Ghoulish Getaway
by Blueshade Seraphim
Summary: My personal spin on the story of Luigi’s Mansion 3. Instead of King Boo, Luigi must face a new threat that is planning to snare him and co into paintings for eternity. Can Luigi save his friends, and unravel the mystery of The Midnights? His fate is in your hands...
1. Checking in

**(The following is an expansion of a previous fanfic of mine, "Dying To Treat You". Reading it is not necessary to understanding this story, but it will help you see where I plan to take this narrative. So turn the lights down, and relax. Today, you are my guest of honor...)**

One bright and cheery morning in the mushroom kingdom, Luigi, Mario, Daisy, and Peach were all on a shuttle bus, on their merry way to their destination. What destination, you may ask? Why, none other than the famed Midnight Hotel. A renowned and luxurious place to stay and relax. In fact, it's famous for its solid gold paint job, courtesy of the many coins it had collected over the years. And lucky them, they invited to stay for a week for the bargain price of free! The invitation stated the reason for such generosity was that Mario and Luigi were idolized the world over, and their presence at the hotel would help boost profits even further. Needless to say, the gang was all excited for the trip. Luigi had brought along polterpup as well, him having made a good pet ever since his adventures in Evershade Valley. Peach was reading the brochure, Daisy was thrashing to some tunes on the radio, and Mario was just taking in the comfy texture of his seat.

Before long, the gang had arrived at their destination. Everyone was left awestruck at the alluring glow of the hotel's walls. Immediately, they were greeted by a bellhop. His uniform a nice shade of red. "Welcome, guests! Please, allow us to handle your luggage." Everybody then handed their suitcases to him. For someone so scrawny, he was surprisingly good at supporting all that weight. "Thank you so much, mister..." Peach began, pausing to read his name tag. "Murphy". Murphy nodded, and walked in through the front doors. The rest of the crew followed behind. The lobby was just as glossy and beautiful as the outside. Flowers in every vase, a perfume-like aroma pumped through the ventilation system, and plenty of staff bustling around the joint.

**(The song "Welcome To The Hotel" from Eloise, starts playing on the PA system)**

Daisy whistled, to emphasize how impressed she was. "Fancy joint they've got here. I hope their pool has a diving board." Peach chuckled, "Come now, Daisy. We just got here. Besides, I thought you and me would hit the spa first." Daisy thought about it for a second. "Okay, Peachy. Fine by me. But seriously, that pool is calling my name. For once, I wanna swim outside of an Olympic event." They then heard a voice. A female voice, that sounded formal and mature, yet youthful. "There will be plenty of time for whatever you fancy here, madam."

They all looked, to see a little girl in a uniform very similar to Murphy's, only it was blue instead of red. She had black hair in twintails, blue eyes, and stood in an upright manner with her hands folded behind her back. By the looks of it, she was somewhere in her early teen years. "But before you explore our facility, it would be best to show you your rooms first." Luigi and the others walked over to her. Peach smiling. "Aren't you an adorable little thing~ But it's okay, we're just waiting for our tour guide to show up." There was a pause, before the girl responded. "Yes... Hence why I'm here." After a second, everyone realized what she meant by that. Daisy squinted her eyes. "Wait... _you're _our tour guide? I mean, no offense and all, but you look a bit... young." The girl didn't seem offended in the slightest. Her blank expression plastered to her face. "Age and ability are not directly correlated, madam. I would not have been selected for this task if I wasn't qualified."

Polterpup then playfully barked at her, which didn't even so much as attract the gaze of the hotel employee. "Please excuse my friend, she didn't mean to be rude. So then, can you tell us your name?" The girl started leading them over to the elevator. "Vinny." As they all got on, Vinny included, Luigi and the others exchanged confused glances at the situation. With the elevator moving, Vinny took this time to notice polterpup. "It is recommended that you do what you can to keep any pets to a decent volume past a certain time. Many of our guests don't like being disturbed by loud noises." Peach awkwardly stood there. "Don't worry, he doesn't cause any trouble... Erm... You can't actually be working for this place, right?" Vinny blinked, once again failing to show emotion. "I merely help in small matters, such as this. Enforcing policies, troubleshooting with guests, that sort of stuff. I assure you, no child labor laws are being challenged."

They arrived at floor 5. There, Vinny walked them through the hallway. "So then, all your rooms will be in close proximity to one another. Princess Peach and Daisy will be staying in rooms 7 and 10, Mario and Luigi will be in rooms 8 and 9. If you have any problems or concerns, please ring the buzzer on your wall for help. Anything else I can do for you?" Peach curtsied, while Mario and Daisy have a thumbs up. Luigi just gave a puzzled glance. "We're all good. Thanks, Vinny." Vinny nodded in an almost robotic fashion, and walked away. Daisy scratched her head. "That girl was weird. And not in a typical weird kid fashion." Peach shrugged. "Maybe her parents just raised her very well. Anyway, you boys have your fun. Me and Daisy will be heading up to floor 8 shortly, if you need anything." Mario and Luigi nodded, and went into their respective rooms.

Luigi was not disappointed by his room at all. Not surprising, given the beauty of the hotel so far. A comfy bed, fancy decor, there were even gifts on the table! And seemingly purchased for him specifically. Luigi definitely appreciated the VIP treatment. One of the gifts was a Mini Mario figure, from his brother's hit toy line. The second was a comfy looking pillow that seemed to originate from the pi'illo kingdom. Gee, that brought back memories. And the third was... a crystal ball...? Wait a minute, Luigi remembers this! It was that crystal ball Madam Clairvoya used to use, wasn't it? How'd they manage to track down this thing? Meh. Probably wasn't important. It's not like she really needs that dusty old ball anyway, being peacefully returned to her portrait, and all. Why, they even went the extra mile and had a golden bone on the bed for polterpup. How nice! Luigi tested out the bed. Man, this thing was like a cloud. It had The Green Thunder's seal of approval. Luigi yawned. Even though it was still morning, Luigi couldn't help but feel enticed by the bed... Oh, it's not like the others would hold it against him if he... if he hit snooze for a while... Before he knew it, he was asleep in a matter of seconds.

Running. Running. Was he really even going anywhere? Every hallway looked exactly the same! Oh, why did he always have to find himself in such predicaments? **"I know you're here somewhere, you mustached string bean..." **Gah! He sounded close by, he should probably keep running! After a minute or two of fleeing, he stopped to catch his breath only for a nearby shot of armor's arms to give away, and almost cut him in half with its axe! **" I hear you, Luigiiii. Come on, you and me should catch up after all this time!" **A cold draft invaded the air, as a sinister purple glow was getting brighter from around the corner! Luigi had only seconds to think, so he dashed into the nearest door and slammed it shut behind him. A broom closet. Not much room between him and the door. He frantically blockaded the door with whatever he could find nearby, until he felt something was on the other side. He held his breathe, and stayed silent.

He shook, as that same purple glow radiated through the cracks in the door. Please don't find him, please don't find him! **"...Heh." **He then felt his pursuer leave, as the purple glow diminished. He breathed a sigh of relief, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He then felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Turning around slowly, he screamed as King Boo laughed at him! **"Good thinking, Luigi! He'll never find us in here! Bwahaha!" **Darn it, DARN IT, he forgot he could go through walls! He backed up as much as he could, but it was hopeless! He had trapped himself in!Luigi's fear turned to terror as King Boo summoned a painting to his side. **"Hold still now! I wanna get all the details just right!" **Luigi could do nothing but helplessly struggle as the painting got closer and closer, drawing him in, until...!

He woke up screaming. Thank the crystal stars for that it was just a dream. Yeesh. He almost had a heart attack there. Luigi looked out the window, to see a full moon out. He must've _really _overdid it in terms of napping. He searched around for polterpup, but he wasn't in the room anywhere. So he went over to his dog bowl to see a note. For an animal without opposable thumbs, he had some oddly good penmanship.

_Arf arf! Woof! Bark! (Translation: Gone off to play)_

Luigi sighed. Old habits die hard, he guessed. Fortunately for him, he had just the thing for finding him this late at night: he dug through his suitcase and pulled out his old flashlight from his adventures in Evershade Valley. Strobulb still included. Such a shame E. Gadd didn't let him keep the poltergust, otherwise this would be easier. But it was only now that Luigi realized the decor of his room had changed completely. Instead of the shiny gold paint job he remembered seeing, the room was dominated by gray walls, purple curtains, dark greens and blues, and the floor was coated in a foreboding coat of fog. An owl was heard outside. Hopefully polterpup wasn't far, he didn't want to be out there wandering in the darkness for any longer than he has to. Slowly creaking open the door, he waved his flashlight towards both sides of the hall, he saw nothing was out there. Atleast... not anything he could see.

**(The music "Telescope Towers Main Theme 1" from Skylanders: Trap Team plays)**

Tiptoeing out of the safety of his room, he gently closed the door behind him and nervously looked around. Same as his room: the hallway's appearance had changed completely. What was going on here!? Okay. Okay. Think about this... Maybe waking up Mario would be the smart thing to do. He'd be able to handle this situation much better than him. So despite Luigi not wanting to disturb his brother's sleep, he went into Mario's room. And sure enough, there was a Mario shaped protrusion under his bedsheets. Luigi walked over, and tried to wake Mario up by shaking him. No answer. So he pulled back the sheets, and saw a pile of discarded clothes in the shape of Mario! There was no way this was an accident. He needed to tell the princesses! But to his disbelief, they were gone as well! Vanished, without a trace!

Luigi was starting to get really freaked out now. Something really screwy was going on here. Swallowing hard, Luigi decided he should find the elevator. Maybe he could find Peach and Daisy on the 8th floor, like they said. It was highly unlikely they'd be there, given how late it was, but he had to try. So he creeped through the hallway. The carpet thankfully muffling his footsteps. He kept quiet, not knowing what could be lurking in the shadows. He then saw a painting on the wall that he didn't see before: it was a painting of a dry bones. It started to wobble for a reason Luigi didn't want to know. Luigi kept his eyes on it, as it shook harder, and more violently until it was practically spasming on the wall. And then... it stopped. Luigi paused for a moment just to be safe. Then suddlenly, a ghost jumped out of the painting at him! Luigi shook, and pointed his flashlight warningly at the ghost. But the ghost playfully floated towards him, before whispering its imitation of a chain chomp sound, causing Luigi to scream.

The ghost laughed, as it stole a sword from a nearby suit of armor. This ghost was known as a goob. Blue and skinny. Not very dangerous on their own... _unless _you happen to have no means of containing them. Luigi ran for his life, as the goob whistled to summon its friends, and they all chased after him. Why could Mario and Luigi never have a normal vacation!? Luigi ran for his life, but soon found himself cornered at a dead end. The only thing he could see was the laundry chute. He hesitantly looked at it, and then back to the horde of ghosts gleefully closing in on him. He knew what he had to do. And he didn't like it. But it was better than getting caught. Luigi stuffed himself down the laundry chute, where he fell down into the darkness. Eventually landing in a mound of laundry. Thank goodness they helped cushion his fall. Getting out, and taking a sock off his shoulder, he then exited the laundry room. It felt good being on the ground floor, but he sadly knew his friends were most likely still trapped in this place. And he was NOT leaving without them. No matter how terrified he was. But first, he wanted to get his bearings. On his way to the parking lot, to form a plan, he walked through another hallway.

And upon turning a corner, he gasped. It was Vinny. But she was noticeably different: her pupils were missing, and her body was translucent. She was a ghost too! But she looked alive when they saw her earlier that day! Luigi hid back behind the corner while he calmed down. "I'm sorry, is there a problem, sir?" Luigi jumped out of his skin, as Vinny had somehow noticed him, and walked up to him without making a sound.

**(The music "Deadbird Studio Reception" from A Hat in Time plays)**

"Please try not to scream. I doubt many at this hour would appreciate it." Wait... She didn't seem like she wanted to hurt him at all. Vinny promptly responded to Luigi's shocked expression. "Oh. You're confused about my appearance. I wear eye contacts during the day shift, see?" She pulled out colored contacts, that gave the illusion she had pupils. Luigi lowered his flashlight, seeing she wasn't dangerous. "Anyway, I must ask you to return to your room. Unwarranted wandering of the premises may throw off our staff's daily rounds."

Luigi then spoke up to her. "What's that? You can't find your friends, and you're looking for them? So I'm guessing they haven't turned in for the night?" Luigi nodded. "My. That _is _rather peculiar. My apologies, I probably should've provided a map to you four. It's easy to get lost in a building with such scale. Please, allow me to accompany you. I'm more familiar with the floor layout, so it should make your search less tedious. Besides, I can't have a guest blindly roaming the hotel at night by himself." He was a tad perplexed to have a friendly ghost with him. But her rationality did make sense. So he agreed, and the two of them started exploring. Something told Luigi he had a loooong night ahead of him.


	2. Bellhaunt

And so Luigi wandered through the darkness with his new ghost companion, Vinny. The two of them walked into the parking lot. "I truly do not see how searching outside the building will be of use in finding your friends." Luigi then explained to her. "I suppose you're right. It's best to leave no stone unturned." They then walked past the shuttle bus Luigi and co arrived in, and saw a red car behind it that had a very familiar paint job. Luigi approached it, and saw plenty of high tech contraptions worked into it. Luigi then asked about it. "That rusty old thing? Yes, I believe it belongs to a strange looking old man. He arrived a few hours before you did. He must've been important. President Midnight came down to personally greet him. Other than that, I know very little." Luigi put a hand on his chin, before getting an idea.

He flashed his strobulb at the green light on the trunk. Turning it on, and opening it. "Sir, I don't think I need to remind you that it's a crime to tamper with other people's belongings like this." Luigi rummaged through the trunk, and there it was! A poltergust! Looks like a new model, too! Luigi couldn't help but be impressed by its shiny appearance. "What on earth is that thing? It's best that you return it immediately, before you have the chance to break it." But before he could respond, something wooshed in, and practically tackled Luigi as it swiped the poltergust from his hands! Upon getting up, he realized it was Murphy! But he was a ghost too. And he seemed like he wasn't there to be his friend. "Ah! Thank you for recovering this device. We do not allow weapons anywhere near our fine establishment." Vinny stared, perplexed. "Good grief, Murphy! What's gotten into you!? You just body-slammed a guest!"

Murphy then looked back, seemingly just as confused. "Vinny? What are you doing here? Oh, whatever. I got what I came for." Vinny's expression was that of disbelief. "_'What you came for'_? President Midnight is gonna be furious, when he hears of this appalling behavior." Murphy rolled his nonexistent pupils. "You couldn't be more wrong, kiddo. Just leave this to the adul-" but before he could finish his sentence, Luigi grabbed onto the poltergust. The two of them then engaged in a tug of war. Both seemed to have equal strength, until a shoe came crashing into Murphy's face, causing him to lose his grip and fall over. Looking in the direction it came, Luigi saw Vinny had thrown her shoe at him. "I will not tolerate such unacceptable behavior from our staff." As Murphy was dazed, Luigi quickly strapped on the poltergust, preventing him from taking it again.

"Argh. I don't get paid enough for this job. Fine! You wanna play rough? Let's play rough!" He then picked up a nearby suitcase, and threw it at them. But Luigi immediately activated his poltergust, and sucked it up mid-flight. Getting it pressed against the vacuum of his poltergust. He then shot it back out at Murphy, and the ghost bellhop ducked under the attack. "I hope you realize that's coming out of your paycheck, you brute." Luigi then flashed Murphy with the strobulb, and proceeded to suck him in. Murphy fled from the wind as best he could, and grabbed onto a luggage trolley. Seeing what he was thinking, Luigi stopped the suction, but not in time to avoid being smashed in the face with the runaway trolley.

Thinking fast, Murphy looked around, a smirk appearing on his face as he went on to possess E. Gadd's car! Luigi stood back in shock, and Vinny watched for any sudden movements. The car then screeched, as it barreled uncontrollably towards them. Vinny leaped out of the way, but Luigi got completely bodied by the haunted vehicle. Hanging for dear life on the windshield, Murphy crashed the car into the walls again and again to try and piledrive Luigi into them. Being flipped off of the car as it sped around the room, Luigi gasped as it revved its engine at him, skidding its tires, as it came at him at full speed with the intention of running him over. Not knowing what to do, Luigi braced for impact and accidentally flashed the strobulb.

The light on E. Gadd's car activated, and the trunk opened, sending Murphy flying out of the car and into the wall, while the car came to a stop _just _before it hurt Luigi. The car then pretty much collapsed from all the damage it took, one of the tires rolling away from the wreckage. Murphy dizzily rose back up, as Luigi seized the moment to flash him again, and get a capture stream on him. He panted, as he desperately tried to flee. "What? Ever... ever heard of road rage before!?" In the struggle, Murphy held onto the entrance to the shuttle bus with all his might. Trying his best to pull himself in, away from the suction. But to his horror, Vinny was gleefully sitting in the driver's seat, giving him a mocking smile with her hand on a lever. "Sorry passengers, this is our last stop." She joked. Murphy gave her a pleading expression, but she pulled the leve back. Closing the bus door on his fingers, and causing him to lose his grip. "I was on my way to retirement anywaaaay!" He yelled, as he was sucked up into the poltergust. Captured.

Luigi caught his breath, as Vinny stepped off the bus. "Well... that was quite a trying ordeal. I'm terribly sorry you had to be involved in that." Luigi smiled to show it was okay. Vinny then looked at the poltergust. "The way you used that thing... you've done this before, haven't you?" He nodded. "Well, I am in your debt for helping deal with that hooligan. I don't understand, he's never acted like this before." Luigi then spoke up. "As much as I hate to admit, I think you're right. This could very much be linked to the disappearance of your companions." Then something floated out of the poltergust: a note of sorts. "Hmm? What's this?" She snatched it out of the air, and began to read it. "Torn in half. Probably from all the chaos that just ensued. Let's see... _'sure to place him on the 2nd floor, where he can be admired. Then search for the poltergust.'_ No name at the bottom. Figures."

Luigi thought about what it could mean. "So we have some unknown individual ordering around staff? Such despicable actions are irreconcilable." Vinny paused for a moment, and then turned back to Luigi. "With that device on your back... the _'poltergust'_, I take it...? With it, I very well may require your services more than you do mine. I know it's... not really your problem exactly, but... while we search for your friends, can you help me find and contain this shadowy mastermind along the way? I don't know how, but I promise you that you'll be compensated for your hard work." He gave a thumbs up. "Thank you so much. Given what this note says, I believe the 2nd floor would be the logical place to start. What day you?" He nodded, and then walked away a moment. "Where are you going?"

A second later, he returned with her shoe. The one she threw at Murphy. "Oh. Erm... thanks." She put it back on, and the two of them went back into the hotel, to try and find some clue as to what's going on...


	3. Split mind

When the hotel was first constructed, the 2nd floor was made with children in mind. It was colorful, and had plenty of accommodations like toys to keep the little tykes entertained. It was meant for those big families that have a lot of kids in the group. But one night, something terrible happened. And from that day forward, the floor was haunted by a mysterious spirit, by the name of Nivyn. No one knows who she is, or where she came from. But her presence was enough to discourage anyone from entering her sanctuary. Under normal circumstances, Vinny would just leave her be, as always. However, they had no choice, if they wanted to save the professor.

As they stood in front of the door to the second floor, Vinny paused, as a deafening silence filled the room. "I think I should take this opportunity to warn you: the specter that roams this floor will _not _be happy to see us. But if we're careful, we may be able to locate this E. Gadd fellow, and be off before she notices we're there." Luigi thought that was a good plan. If he had the choice, he'd wanna be in and out ASAP. So they quietly opened and shut the door behind them. And what they saw... was quite fear inducing, to say the least. The wall paper was peeling, the lights had long since lost their power, leaving the whole floor in a haze of pitch black darkness. And to top it all off, there were some creepy black tendrils made of slime spilling out of those same tears in the wallpaper.

**(The music "Alaskan Belly Trouble (Mechanical) (Idle)" from Spongebob: CFTKK plays)**

Luigi tucked on the collar of his shirt at the sight. It was clear this floor had been left to rot for who knows how long? "I'd advise you not to touch that black stuff. It's ectoplasm. I don't know if it may cause a bad reaction with human skin." Luigi decided to heed her advice. The duo then wandered through the halls, looking into whatever rooms they could, in the hopes E. Gadd was in one of them. But all they found were beds occupied by life-sized dolls, as well as discarded toys, like plush unicorns and plastic magic wands. Eventually, they entered a room marked 'E-001'. Within it, they found a bunch of drawings scattered all over the floor. All of which seemed to be drawn by a child. Some were of normal things, like three stick figures, labeled _daddy, me, _and _mommy _respectively. Some were drawings of innocent stuff, like flowers and horses, but some of them depicted a certain familiar face...

Luigi picked up one of said pictures. The drawing depicted the stick figure of the girl with a sad face, and what was crudely, but unmistakably, a drawing of King Boo. Between the two of them was a line, which Luigi could guess was probably a door. "Mister Luigi, come look at this..." Vinny said, pointing to some sort of rectangle shaped object poking out from under the bed. Luigi then reached underneath, but as he was about to grab it, a ghost popped out at him. "Hello!" Luigi jumper back, accidentally hitting the wall as the ghost rose up from under the bed. She was a little girl, seemingly the same age as Vinny. She also had black hair. However, her hair was a complete mess, as if she had tried to comb it herself. She also wore a blue pair of pajamas, a purple heart on the front of her shirt. But most notably, she had tear stains running down her face. Tear stains made out of ectoplasm. Despite all this, she had a smile on her face. But it didn't reach her eyes.

**(The music "Who Are You" from Final Fantasy 7 plays)**

"Mweeheehee! You found me! You're a really good seeker. I'm so happy you came to play with me!" Vinny stood there awkwardly, as her gaze fell on her. "Erm... Hello, Nivyn. It's um... nice to see you again...?" Nivyn then hugged her with a toothy grin. Quite literally suffocating her with her affection. "Sissy! Where have you been all this time? I was really lonely when you left." Luigi scratched his head at the display. "You're cutting off my circulation..." Nivyn then let go, being alerted she was causing her discomfort. "Oops. Sorry. But now I can introduce you to everyone! It'll be fun!" Vinny gave her a puzzled expression, since Nivyn was the only one on this floor before their arrival. But before she could ask anything, Nivyn grabbed her by the hand and practically yanked her through the wall to follow her.

Luigi was confused to say the least, but before he went off after them, it would be best to see what's under the bed. And after propping it up, he could see it was exactly what he thought it'd be: a painting of E. Gadd. Except the real E. Gadd was trapped within it. Said painting also seemed to have been drawn on with crayons. Nivyn probably mistook it for a coloring book sorta thing. Unfortunately, Luigi didn't have his dark light with him, to set him free. At the very least, he knew where he was now. Leaving him there for later, Luigi then went off to track down Vinny. And when he stepped into the hallway, he was caught off guard to see that all the dolls that were previously in their separate rooms were now out in the hallway. All looking at him with their glowing eyes. Luigi carefully crept around all of them. And while their gaze followed him through the halls, they didn't seem hostile towards him.

Before long, Luigi found himself in a large room, where Nivyn was sitting on a playmat with Vinny, filling up a tea cup with some imaginary tea. There were also two dolls sitting there as well. One a man, one a woman. Slumped over forward in an unnatural manner. "...and yeah, he gave me this pretty looking light, and that weird picture thing." Luigi then saw Nivyn was holding exactly what he needed in her hands: the dark light. She turned it on to show the rainbow light that it produced to her not so willing guest. "Yes... Anyway, me and the guest are looking for someone whom we believe might be here. Have you seen anyone?" The air was suddenly filled with tension as Nivyn's smile faded. "You mean you... didn't come here to see me?" Vinny then realized her mistake. "No. No no, of course not! What other reason would I have to be here? Haha...!" Nivyn stared for a moment, but her smile returned a minute or two later.

"Aww, that's really sweet of you, sissy. I'm glad we're a family again. I super duper promise you'll be happy here." She then looked at her tea kettle, as if only now realizing that it was, and has been empty this whole time. "Oh, what a silly goose I am. You probably want to actually drink something. Stay here, I'll see if I can find some tea." She then floated off through the wall, also failing to recall that ghosts can't even drink anything. Luigi then walked over to his ghostly companion. "I'll keep her distracted. You find the professor, and we'll make a run for it." she whispered. Luigi then explained the situation as quickly but clearly as he could, before Nivyn gets back. "You need the light? She isn't gonna like that one bit. And I doubt I'll be able to convince her to hand it over." Luigi thought about it for a second, and then got an idea.

He unscrewed the light on his flashlight, and then swapped it with the dark light. Making sure the light was in the same spot as Nivyn left it. Luigi was about to turn and leave, but Nivyn came back in the room. "Sorry, it looks like none of the faucets are working." Luigi slowly crept towards the door, hoping she wouldn't notice him. "It's okay, I'm not thirsty anyway. So how is your doll collection?" Nivyn smiled cheerfully. "It's nice. My dollies help me when I'm by myse- Say, is that your guest over there?" Luigi froze, as he turned to see he had been spotted. "Yes, he is. But it's no big deal, pay him no mind." Nivyn giggled. "Aww, come on, sis! I'm sure he wants to play with us too." Luigi knew it would be a bad idea to anger her, so he slowly walked over and sat down. "Wanna see my light, mister? I'll show you, it's very pretty!" Uh oh...

She turned on the light, and the both of her guests held their breath. No rainbows, just a normal light. Her smile once again vanished from her face. "Huh...?" Vinny tried to think of something, fast. "It's okay, Nivyn, it's okay! Maybe it's just broken, I can go fix it!" But Nivyn's blank expression shriveled into a frown. Biting her lip as her eyes looked crazed, she slowly turned her head to Luigi, and then looked at his flashlight. "Huhh... Hugghh... Hrrrnggg...!" Vinny got up, and slowly backed away, Luigi doing the same. "I swear, this isn't what it looks like. I wouldn't-" but Nivyn cut her off, as her head tilted to the side, as if lacking the strength to hold itself upright. "You never wanted to play with me... you just want my stuff... You just...! _You just...!" _Vinny tried to calm her down. "You know how it is, Nivyn. I have work to do, and I have to get it done." The room shook, as Nivyn's eye began to twitch. A sound reminiscent of a teapot boiling being audible.

**(The music "King of the Koopas" from Paper Mario plays)**

"Daddy always told me the same thing. And then he never came back... and then he never...! And then he left me all... _and then HE LEFT ME ALL...!" _Then the sound of a train screeching to a halt on some tracks were heard as Nivyn's stood up, her whole body shaking. She then possessed the male doll, having it grow sharp teeth and claws. "She's gone off the deep end, Mister Luigi! We won't be getting off this floor unless we can apprehend her!" Luigi tried flashing his light at the doll as it ran towards him, but as he anticipated, it did nothing. He rolled out of the way as the doll cut the table behind him clean in half! Vinny sought to discern a weakness in their porcelain foe, but was low on ideas. So she chucked the playmat at it in an attempt to blind it, but the doll saw it coming and sliced it apart mid-air. _"YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THAT SCARY GUY!" _It jumped up and grabbed the chandelier over head, ripping it out of the ceiling and throwing it at Luigi, knowing it would just go straight through Vinny.

Luigi managed to avoid getting smashed under the fragile decoation, and stumbled over to the tea set that had somehow avoided getting smashed so far. Without even knowing what he was doing, he sucked up the tea kettle, and launched it back at the doll, whom had resumed chasing him. The kettle shattered in its face, disorienting it, and Luigi leaped aside as it blindly drove itself into the wall. Nivyn flew out of the now broken doll, visibly more enraged than before. _"You big... STUPIDHEAD!" _She then possessed the female doll, armed with a sharp looking umbrella. Luigi knew she wasn't gonna fall for the same trick twice. But that's when he noticed a second button on his poltergust that he'd never used before. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He pressed the button, as a plunger came shooting out. The doll opened its umbrella to block the attack, but the plunger stuck itself to it.

Instantly seeing what the professor had in mind for this function, Luigi then started to suck her in. The doll tried to resist the suction, but it was already too late. The rope end of the plunger was now firmly in the poltergust's vacuum, as Luigi flung it, (and by extension, the doll), onto the floor. Shattering it into a thousand pieces. Nivyn floated there after being forcibly removed from her shell. Luigi was about to give her a dose of the strobulb, but then saw her expression. Just as suddenly as her anger bubbled to the surface, it now faded away. Replaced with sadness. Nivyn floated down to the floor, where she sat down, and dejectedly glared down at the floor. Humming to herself.

**(The music "It's raining somewhere else" from undertale plays)**

Vinny then approached Luigi. "She isn't actually my sister. To be entirely honest, I have no idea who she is. But... the earliest memory I have was waking up in room E-001. She was sobbing under the bed. I wanted to help her, but President Midnight personally came to request my services, saying they'd get her a psychiatrist."

The both of them frowned. "After that, I just moved on... but when I heard the employees discussing this floor, as well as the freshly imposed quarantine on it, I... realized she was still here. The president is a busy man, so in all likelihood, he just forgot." Luigi then spoke up. "Bring her with us? I'm afraid that probably won't work. We don't really have any means of helping her." Luigi frowned, looking at the sulking ghost on the floor. "After we find your friends, I'll do what I can to bring the matter to the president's awareness." Luigi nodded. But before he left to save the professor, he decided to leave his Mini Mario toy with Nivyn. She didn't say anything in response, but she did seem less sad. So Luigi, and his ghoul friend made their way back to room E-001... but he knew in his heart, at some point tonight he was gonna try and make this right.


	4. Top chef

Returning to the parking lot, Luigi propped up the painting against the shuttle bus, and used his dark light on it. E. Gadd then popped out of the painting, landing on his face. Vinny looked on with amazement. "My, that's some rather impressive technology." E. Gadd then dusted himself off, and looked at his savior. "Luigi, my boy! Boy am I glad you're here, sonny. How's life been with your brother?" Luigi then explained the situation. "Oh. So they've been captured too, huh? Ain't _that_ a real kick in the trousers er... overalls, in your case." Vinny floated over. "I presume you two have a history?" E. Gadd gasped at the sight. "Good thing you found my poltergust, Luigi, cause it looks like it needs using!" Luigi then elaborated that she wasn't a threat, telling him how she's helped out so far. "A friendly ghost? Without the presence of the dark moon? Ahhh, this really gets the cogs in my brain turning. Still, I hope your trust isn't misplaced, youngster." Vinny was mildly offended at the remark, but chose not to retort.

"Anyway, normally I'd be out of here faster than that blue spiny friend of yers. What was his name? Mr. Needle Mouse, or something?" A cricket was heard for a second or two. "Haha! I'm just messing with you. But really, I would want to leave, but this hotel is practically BURSTING with paranormal activity. A great scientist never turns down such a chance for research. Now lessee here... Do you two happen to know where my automobile is?" Luigi nervously laughed and scratched the back of his head, while Vinny whistled to herself. Gadd then noticed the wreckage in his peripheral vision. "...I'll put it on your tab." He then walked over to it, and pulled out some strange dome-shaped device from it. Miraculously unscratched from Murphy's reckless driving.

"And this is why you plan ahead. I made this baby to last. Now um... You may wanna take a step back." His peers obliged. So he pressed a button on it, making it grow into a life-sized dome that was thankfully able to fit under the parking lot's roof. Luigi applauded, while Vinny merely gazed in awe. "The thing about ghosts is that they can be found in lots of places, and with a lot of variations. So I thought it'd be more cost efficient, not having to build a new lab every time I relocate. Better yet, it's completely ghost proof. So it's pretty much as safe as they come." Gadd then walked up to Luigi. "I'll get comfortable in there for the night, and give you advice like always. Speaking of which..." He then reaches into his lab coat, and pulled out a red ear piece that matched the glossy red of the poltergust. "Like it? I call it a Joyconnector. I thought it'd be more convenient if you didn't have to use your hands for us to talk. It also utilizes pixelator technology to download any information you may need into your brain! No need to thank me." Luigi promptly attached it to his ear.

"Not to interrupt or anything, sir. But we're currently leading an investigation on the identity and motive of an unknown villain. Do you have any insight that could narrow down our list of suspects?" Luigi handed E. Gadd Murphy's note, and he thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I figured as much. When I got an invitation from my old friend Maxill to visit this place, I jumped at the chance to show him my latest advances in ghost hunting technology. After showing me my room, he told me he wanted to give me something. But a few minutes afterwards, someone jumped me. I didn't get a good look at them before I was imprisoned in that painting, but... Yes. They were very large. And round." Vinny then began thinking aloud. "Hmm... So whoever they are, they clearly knew both you and Luigi's group would be arriving. The only person I can think of who fits that description is Kruller, and even then, he wouldn't hurt a fly..." Luigi then put a hand on her shoulder in understanding. Vinny sighed. "Right... First things first. Anything else you'd like to say, sir?"

E. Gadd nodded. "Yes. I'll try and work out anything that may help you out in the lab. But until then, there is an important package in my room on the 3rd floor. I highly recommend you find it. It may just be useful in your little mission here." Vinny raised an eyebrow. "Floor 3? Why would your room be there? That floor is reserved for the staff." E. Gadd chuckled. "You mean you don't know? Back in my younger days, I used to work here as a tech guy. But not in the boring circuit fixing sorta way. Even back then, I was an inventor at heart." Vinny put a hand on her chin. "Intriguing." And so, E. Gadd started walking into his lab. "Well, I wish you two luck out there. We may not know who we're up against, but if they're as crafty as they seem, it won't be long before they try and steal the package." Luigi waved goodbye as E. Gadd closed the door behind him. "What an odd man. But he does seem more knowledgeable in this field. It'd be best to follow his instructions." Luigi nodded.

So they made their way up to the 3rd floor. It had smooth white walls, and some nice gray tiles on the floor. "So then, where is your room located, Professor?" Vinny asked. "I believe it was... G-144." They managed to locate the room in question, and found a ghost maid inside, dusting the place. "So what does this package look like, pray tell?" Vinny asked, unfazed by the maid's presence. "It should look like a tank of green liquid." The maid overheard their conversation, and flew over. Appearing to be shocked to see Luigi, and that Vinny was with him. "Is something the matter, la mignonne?" Vinny folded her arms behind her back. "Chambrea, we're currently looking for the lost belongings of a guest. Don't mind us, this will only take a moment." Luigi just shuddered as the ghost looked at him.

Chambrea then grabbed out a suitcase with E. Gadd's logo on it. "Oh! You mean this?" Luigi nodded. "Wow. To think you of all people would find it for us." But Vinny's pleasant mood was immediately withdrawn when Chambrea shoved the suitcase into her mouth, going right to her thighs. Both Luigi and Vinny stared in complete disbelief. "Sorry, mon chéri~ J'ai mes ordres!" She then tried to bolt through the wall, but the suitcase stopped her. Being a tangible object, unlike her. "I just... WHY!? Why would you do something like this!? I am simply appalled. Appalled, I say!" Luigi flashed her with the strobulb and tried to suck her up, but the suitcase once again got in the way. But Vinny, thinking on her feet, ripped the suitcase out of her as the vacuum started sucking her in. "He didn't want you getting involved, so he didn't tell you..." Vinny's patience was growing thin. "Who?" Chambrea didn't respond, her stomach in the process of being suctioned up.

Vinny narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Be that way." She then picked up a nearby mop and used it to shove Chambrea into the poltergust. Once the maid was captured, she then held the poltergust's vacuum to her mouth. "And by the way, you're fired." With the package secure, the two of them opened it up to find... nothing in it. E. Gadd weighed in on the Joyconnector. "Empty? That swine must've already swiped it before we got here! Guess they won't be making it easy for us." Luigi sighed, closing the empty suitcase. Then Vinny spoke up. "I think I may know where she'd put it. Chambrea is infamous for her gluttony, so it seems only logical to check the mess hall. Often times she got in hot water with her superiors for taking unapproved breaks to stuff her face. But know this: chances are, we'll bump into Chef Sargossa, and his apprentice, Chef Munchop. And seeing the pattern of the staff turning hostile, they may not let us pass on by without a fight." Luigi begrudgingly nodded, and they went off to the kitchen...

A ghoulish fog painted the floor of the mess hall. It was unnaturally cold in here. The lights were off, but the moonlight peering through the windows provided sufficient sight. The long blinds blowing in the wind. Vinny and Luigi crept across the room towards the kitchen, as they felt something... some_one _watching them. E. Gadd whispered. "May just be my old age, but I think this might be a trap." Luigi took a step past a table, as its silverware clattered to the floor! Pushed off by some unseen force. "A smidge too late for such information to be useful, Professor...!" All the doors in the room suddenly slammed shut as creepy male laughter was heard. Luigi kept his flashlight at the ready. Then, a ghost materialized before them: a skinny ghost chef with blue skin, having the face of a young man with green glowing eyes. His chef uniform was tattered near the bottom, and he wore white oven mitts that were stained with green slime around the edges.

"Bonjour, monami! Normally we do not work at this hour, but for you? I think we can be making an exception. Tonight we have a 4 course meal of terror to help get some meat on your bones. I just hope you can stomach it! Heeheehaha!" He rubbed his hands together, as the room temperature dropped to freezing! He then blasted a nearby water fountain to bits, sending water spreading across the floor, and then hardening from the cold. Turning the mess hall into an ice rink! He then levitated two tables and started spinning them in the air like saw blades! Being a ghost, the ice didn't affect Vinny, but this still looked more than a little deadly. Knowing she lacked the strength to pick up something so heavy herself, she instead armed herself with a fire extinguisher. "Don't think I'll just stand idly by, Munchop!" As the crazed chef tried to attack Luigi, Vinny sprayed him in the face with her fire extinguisher. Causing him to miss his attack by mere inches.

**(The music "Twisty Tunnels - Fight 3" from Skylanders: Swap Force plays)**

Luigi then tried to flash him with his flashlight, but he shielded his eyes with his oven mitts. Luigi slipped and skittered across the floor, as Munchop sent one of the tables rolling towards him, almost smashing into Luigi, if not for his well timed dodge leading it into a wall instead. Vinny then flew up and tried to beave Munchop with her extinguisher, as the foul chef animated the tray of lobsters on one of the tables still standing upright to fly towards Luigi as they got into a brawl. Luigi used a pan as a shield from the attack, trying to see an opening, as he didn't want to accidentally suck up Vinny as well. Then E. Gadd gave Luigi some strategic advice. "Vinny, try to get him close to the ground! Luigi, go up to him and hit the green button on your vacuum!" Vinny wrestled with Munchop, sticking the nozzle of the fire extinguisher in his mouth, causing his head to inflate before utilizing his dazed state to bring said extinguisher crashing into his face and knocking him to the floor.

Luigi races over, and Munchop instinctively guarded his eyes. "You underestimate me, mademoiselle." Luigi then pressed the button, sending a shockwave of air blowing out of his poltergust and sending Munchop's mitts flying off his hands. Vinny smirked. "Oh? I think you'll find a hot plate of punishment to be rather hard to swallow." Luigi flashed him with his flashlight, and then sucked up Munchop. The ice below them melted, and the doors opened back up. "Excellent work, you two! But don't forget why you're there. Find the package, before something else crazy happens!" Heeding his advice, the pair went into the kitchen. There in the freezer was the canister of green liquid E. Gadd was looking for! Vinny picked it up, and brought it back to Luigi. "Alright, now before anything else, attach it to the back of the poltergust G-00." Vinny did exactly that, as the green stuff flowed from the canister into the container attached to the poltergust.

"Eureka! Now we're cooking with gas here." Luigi was about to ask what it was, but a voice interrupted them. A man's voice, that was thick and saucy, but menacing. "I couldn't have said it better myself." They turned to see another ghost chef. But this one wasn't slim like the last one. In fact, he had a gut to him. His skin was a slightly darker shade of blue than Munchop's, and his eyes matched that motif. He also had a twirly mustache, and a creepy grin. "But y'all bettah not be full just yet. That sissy little display was just the appetizer. Tonight in Sargossa's, we'll be seein' which one of us is on the chopping block!" Vinny stood her ground. "You may be the head chef here, but that's no excuse to make threats to those who've never wronged you." Sargossa's grin deepened. "Aha! And you're sayin' that barging in the joint, kidnapping my apprentice, and stealing the secret ingredient in my multi-leveled cake isn't doing me wrong?" Vinny then cringed. "That is _disgusting! _I would NEVER eat a cake with that stuff in it." Sargossa folded his arms. "It adds some great texture, kiddo. Don't knock it till ya try it."

"Whatever. If you won't let us leave, we'll have to take you down. Right, Mister Luigi?" She looked back to see Luigi shaking against the wall, before burying her forehead in her palm. "Then no more banter. Let's spice things UPPAH!" He then jumped into the oven, as it opened to reveal a cascade of flames inside. The fire's red glow spread throughout the kitchen, as the heat sparked and crackled! "You best beat him as soon as you can, youngsters! He's using the oven's heat to turn the whole kitchen into a furnace!" Vinny then looked at her fire extinguisher. "I have to say, none of this is making me feel hungry." She pulled the trigger, but nothing came out. "Empty!? Not now!" Then, a bunch of kitchen utensils started to converge into a giant hand made out of pots and pans and ladles! "If you can't take the heat, stay outta my kitchen!" The hand then started slamming itself into the floor in an attempt to crush them!

**(The music "Ripto's Arena" from Spyro: Reignited Trilogy plays)**

"I swear, if I hear one more food joke tonight, it will be too soon..." Luigi desperately tried to put something between him, and the hand, but it only served to give it more time to catch up with him. Eventually, it caught him. Clenching him in his metal grasp. "Outta the frying pan and into the fire, shrimp!" Vinny tried to pull the hand apart as it squished Luigi, but it was no use. "Vinny! The button on the back of the poltergust. Hurry!" Vinny flew up to Luigi, and pressed the button. The green stuff inside the poltergust then oozed down into the hand, and started sticking it together. "Huh? What kinda stunt are yous trying to pull!?" Luigi saw an opening though. Activating his air burst attack that he used on Munchop to break the hand apart, and freeing himself.

Now back on solid ground, Luigi looked over to the oven as the heat was getting even more intense. Some parts of the room starting to catch on fire! Sargossa flew out of the oven. "Now that ain't right, using my property against me. But it won't matter. You're all getting deep fried!" Luigi looked over to see the green goo had formed into something: a perfect clone of him! "Gooigi will help you out. Now end this madness!" E. Gadd rooted. Luigi flashed him with his flashlight and started pulling him in. But as he did, Sargossa dragged him all over the place. Picking up, and throwing any kitchen knifes he could find nearby as he went. Luigi skillfully avoided getting sliced, as Gooigi circled the other way around the kitchen and cornered Sargossa. The both of them got a capture stream on him, as he struggled with all his might. "Don't forget to leave a tiiiiip!" Sargossa screamed, as he was firmly captured into the poltergust.

The oven then shut off, and the fires all dissipated. Vinny breathed a sigh of relief. "Woowee... I'm glad that's over." Luigi nodded exhaustedly, as Gooigi returned to the poltergust. "Well done. Literally! Now the both of you should be as ready as you can be to track down the others. And as a matter of fact, I've happened to locate one! Meet me back in the lab, and I'll fill you in." It took all of her willpower not to groan at the professor's pun. But after that ordeal, she and Luigi were more than happy to head on down for a breather. Almost being cooked alive really takes a lot out of you.


	5. Fortissimo

**(Heehee. I haven't even started writing, and I'm already anticipating what's gonna go down in this chapter. Let's have some fun!)**

Luigi and Vinny returned to E. Gadd's lab, and after a few minutes of rest from their previous ordeal, the professor showed them 3D model of the building. "Alright, I'm pleased to say that I have tracked down the location of one of your friends, Luigi. Can't determine which, but knowing where they are really helps, you know?" He then zoomed in, panning the camera so they saw an overview of the 4th floor. An exclamation point symbol being placed in one room. "Right there. And with the dark light in hand, you should have no trouble freeing them... in theory." Vinny looked at the screen. "That's the music hall. One of my favorite places to relax in my free time. Our musical expert, Amadeus Wolfgeist, even gave me piano lessons once. He's really good at his job, but like me, he has a short temper for loud noises and distracting sounds." E. Gadd turned around in his chair. "Yes. It would be foolish to believe they'd simply leave that room unguarded. If this _'Wolfgeist' _character is as you say, in all likelihood, he's the one guarding it.

Vinny paused. "I must admit... it brings me no pleasure having to face him. But if he is an obstacle to our goal, it cannot be helped." Gadd leaned toward her. "Don't worry, lass. If my Dark Moon research gets off the ground, maybe we can make him good again." Luigi seemed ready to rescue one of his friends, so Vinny obliged. "So then, you know where to go. Happy travels!" So they hopped on the elevator, and headed for the 4th floor. When they did, Luigi was impressed by the theatre decor. "So Luigi, do you believe in the resonating power of music? It grips you. It synchronizes with you. And suddenly, you're feeling that emotion it portrays. Well, _good _music, that is. That rap garbage people are into nowadays just ain't my style." They walk through some lines of red rope, seeing posters of other musicians in the ghost world. _'The Next Generation: Melody', 'The Scholar of Music Scores: Poltergeist', _and one Luigi hadn't seen before: _'Danger on the Dancefloor: Phantasmagloria'. _They then approached some double doors that was painted to look like a sheet of music.

"Well... The stage should be right in here. Are you ready, Luigi?" Luigi nodded, and they walked in. It looked like a normal theatre stage. Lots of seats for the audience, balconies for those who wanted a view, and a fancy looking piano on stage. And on the wall of the stage, just as the professor promised, was the painting of Peach. Luigi was overjoyed that he had tracked down one of his friends, and rushed over to save her. "Luigi, wait!" Vinny bolted in front of him, cutting him off at the very last step before the both of them started hearing music: the piano was playing itself!

**(The music, "F4: Vestibule" from Luigi's Mansion 3 plays)**

A purple mist spread across the floor of the stage. Luigi had wisely decided to head back down to where the seats were, but it was too late for Vinny to move. As soon as the mist touched her, her eyes began to droop, glowing pink. Her expression became zombie-like, as she then started to sway her head to the music. The mist fortunately stopped spreading at the stage, and didn't fill the entire room. "Good thing she saved you there, Luigi. That mist is having some sort of hypnotic effect on her. If that'd been you, well..." Luigi tried to get Vinny's attention, but she couldn't hear him. The music was now in control of her mind. Then, he saw him: playing the piano was Amadeus Wolfgeist himself! He wore a powdered wig, and had purple-pink skin. He also wore a traditional pianist outfit. He stopped playing for a moment to turn to Luigi, Vinny's head slumping over like a rag doll.

"Welcome to my performance. I am very pleased you could make it. You know, I wasn't at all interested in a talentless fool like yourself. But when he told me what you did to my protégé, Melody... Well, it made me feel something. You should be honored. It was that anger you caused me that inspired me to write this piece. I do hope you enjoy the show." He rolled up his sleeves, and began playing again. Vinny jumped back to life, and began dancing to the music.

**(Amadeus Wolfgeist Piano 1 plays)**

Suddenly, chairs from around him started flying into the air. Luigi ran across the room as they came crashing down on him one by one! The music progressively got faster and faster, with more chairs being sent raining down from the heavens. "Keep running, Luigi!" E. Gadd advised. It was a full minute of chaos, but after a full minute of madness, Wolfgeist ran out of chairs to throw. In response to this, Wolfgeist accidentally hit a sour note, causing Vinny's body to shake unnaturally in response. Wolfgeist turned to face Luigi again. "Ugh. Such classless menagerie like yourself never fail to get on my nerves. Is it truly that difficult to give my art the appreciation and respect it deserves? And for heaven's sake, stop being so obnoxious while I play! Such work requires absolute concentration!... But I digress, this next one is called _'Elegy of Cherry Blossoms'."_ He then began playing a lighter, more gentle tune.

**(Amadeus Wolfgeist Piano 2 plays)**

Vinny started moving again, her moves reminiscent of ballet as she danced off the stage and towards Luigi. Luigi was hesitant, not knowing what to do. "Try your best not to hurt her, Luigi." E. Gadd suggested, stating the obvious. Wolfgeist chuckled, watching Luigi trying to avoid his friend as she tried to attack him with her graceful movements upon getting close enough. But that's when Luigi noticed the many musical brass instruments scattered on the edges of the room. Most likely, this place had some sort of orchestra and they left their instruments here. Getting an idea, Luigi ran over to them one at a time, and started blowing on them with his poltergust to make them play. With each instrument's off key noises, Wolfgeist was getting progressively angrier. First a trumpet, then a trombone, etc. "Quiet down, you _INSOLENT _little...!" But his patience was brought to its end when his song was interrupted by a full blast blare of a tuba. Wolfgeist got distracted enough to hit several sour notes, causing Vinny to shudder. Wolfgeist angrily rose from his chair, looking down at Luigi. "Moronic, baseborn, imbecilic, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, INCOHERENT...! NNNNG! That's the last straw! That is the _VERY LAST _straw! I tried to be civilized, but you just couldn't help yourself!"

But before he could do anything, something dropped from the ceiling. Completely crushing his piano, and sending him flying off stage. Luigi took this opportunity to suck him up mid-air, and he succeeded. The mist on the stage dissipated, and Vinny collapsed like a puppet that had had its strings cut. But Luigi saw what had come down and put a premature end to Wolfgeist's performance. It was a ghost he had seen before. He was big, he was round, and he was... fluffy? Except this time, instead of being dressed like an old timey opera singer, he now wore a black leather jacket, a red shirt with a skull on it, a spiked collar and bracelets, similar to Bowser's, and had a black star painted over his eye in a fashion reminiscent of Morton Koopa.

It was the phantom! The one from their adventures in spooky trails, with the rabbids! And he had an electric guitar with him. He picked up Peach's painting. "My beauty. How long it has been." He then kissed it, much to the disgust of Luigi, and a dazed Vinny, still recovering from her hypnosis. The phantom then returned Peach to where she was, and faced Luigi. "Wait... Those clothes... That mustache... Can it be!? It has to...!" He pointed an accusing finger at him. "MARIO!" Luigi facepalmed. The phantom then laughed, and summoned some amps on stage, before plugging his guitar into them. And then... He began singing rock music. "Got a new style, since our time in Spooky Trail. This is MY show! Sorry! You fail. There's only room for ONE rock legend in here. Take in the sight. Poor thing. It'll be your last, I fear."

Then electricity started surging into his guitar. "Pay attention! Listen to Phan. This lovely painting is mine, understand? So you can leeeaaave... the poltergust at the door! Cause the phantom's got the floor!" A bunch of ghost backup singers came in, all of which where red ghosts shaped like a square. They were known as hammers. A ghost type that was known for being the heavy hitters of common ghosts. "The phantom's in the HOOUUUSE! The phantom's in the HOOUUUSE!" They sang. The phantom then started using his guitar, as he played, bolts of electricity blasted out to strike Luigi. Luigi dodged his attacks, and tried to flash him with the strobulb, but the guitar was lit up like a light. And the phantom was invulnerable in the light!

"This is my scene. This is my set. I may be handsome, but I'm bad as it gets. You better run, cause you ain't seen nothing yet. Watch out! The phantom's in the house." Still avoiding getting blasted, Luigi decided to focus on his posey of backup dancers. Vinny was now back on her feet, and ready to help. "Ensure him as long as you can, Luigi! I'll try and sabotage the electrics in his guitar!" She said, as she floated through the wall, to mess with his equipment backstage. "I'll win this battle, I'll win it all. You better get down on your knees, and crawl. You better stop!... You're gonna scream and shout. Cause phantom's gonna walk you out! (The phantom's in the HOOUUUSE! The phantom's in the HOOUUUSE!)" The phantom started throwing his backup singers at Luigi, unintentionally giving him the perfect opponent to take them out of the equation.

"On this night. I'll have you begging for mercy. (Mercy.) On this night. I'll send you to years of therapy (complete insanity...)" The phantom abruptly stopped the song for a moment, to see that Luigi had still survived him thus far. "... TWO! THREE! FOUR!" He then exploded into an epic guitar solo, as fire special effects blasted into effect, a disco ball that reflected real laser lights descending from the ceiling, as the phantom strummed his guitar on his nonexistent knees. Luigi frantically ran across the room in a frenzy, almost getting sliced in half by a laser beam, as the phantom's electric assault went into overdrive! The backup singers then started repeating their line again and again, as his guitar solo continued. "So give it up! It's the end for you. Audition's over! And this time, you lose! Look for all related details on the 10 o'clock news! (WATCH OUT! THE PHANTOM'S IN THE HOUSE.) Watch out..." the phantom practically razed his guitar, as he did a sick backspin, the drums being beat in a rapid pace, leading up to the final line of the song. "The phantom's in the house." Phantom concluded, as he smashed his guitar on the floor in a last ditch effort to finish Luigi, with the broken shards flying out, but Luigi sucked them all up.

It was only at this moment that the phantom realized the song was over, and he had just destroyed his only means of defense against Luigi. "So uhhh... On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you-" Luigi then flashed him, and started sucking him up as the backup singers fled the room. It took some real effort, getting phantom's huge gut to fit in the poltergust's vacuum, but after a minute or two, he was properly contained. Vinny floated back out. "Wow. You managed to beat him before I could cut the power. Nicely done." E. Gadd then called up. "Rockstar rabbit ghosts... as a person who's studied ghosts for years, I still have to say that's a first, even for me. Wait a minute... That was the guy who captured me!" Luigi was surprised to hear that, but atleast the phantom's musical career was properly put to an end this time. Vinny readjusted her hat. "As much as I'd hate to be left without a prime suspect, it's clear the phantom isn't the shadowy mastermind we're looking for. That idiot could barely handle a stage performance, let alone craft such a clever and devious scheme." Luigi nodded. "I agree. But now you should be able to free the princess without any trouble."

Luigi remembered Peach was still trapped in the painting. So he walked up onto stage, and used the dark light on the painting. And so Peach was freed from her confinement. "Luigi? Where am... What happened?" Vinny floated over. "You were the victim of a kidnapping, madam. Which if I'm not mistaken, is a fairly common occurrence for you." Peach pouted, sighing. "I guess even when Bowser's taking a break from the usual routine, I still can't avoid these situations. Well, thank you for saving me, Luigi. Are the others with you?" E. Gadd then spoke up. "Unfortunately, no. They're still in there somewhere. And as if that wasn't enough, I'm getting some interference that's stopping me from locating them. If I had to guess, whoever's behind this knows what we're up to." Peach smiled. "Professor E. Gadd? Wow. I haven't seen you since that whole mess with the shroobs. How have you been?" Vinny gestured towards the door. "We can chat later, princess. Right now, it's preferable we get you to safety."

Peach was shocked that Vinny was a ghost, but quickly realized that if Luigi wasn't scared of her, she must be friendly enough. "Alright, good point. Lead the way." And with that, the three of them made it to the elevator, to drop Peach off at the lab. But unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them through the various security cameras in the hotel. And he wasn't very happy that they had managed to slip by with the princess...

**(I just wanna take this moment to say Amadeus is my FAVORITE boss in the whole game. And I was glad I was able to give him the proper respect in his portrayal before the phantom showed up. How crazy would that be if the phantom was an actual boss in the game? That'd be almost as off the walls bonkers as my interpretation. Overall, I think this is one of my best chapters so far. And if you were wondering, the phantom's song was set to "The Witch Is In The House", from the muppets wizard of oz. So if you wanna hear what it's supposed to sound like, there you go.)**


	6. A Krulle fate

It was always nice to be back in the safety and security of the lab. And now that Peach was saved, she could just wait out the night in here, while Luigi looked for the others. But thanks to the interference of... someone... they cannot track down Mario and Daisy. "I really have to hand it to our opponent. They are a very talented thinker." E. Gadd admitted. "Is there any way to block out the hacker?" Peach asked. "Well, most of the data on my network is personally encrypted by me. I doubt they'll EVER come close to getting into anything important. But unfortunately, I'm afraid they've scrambled my radar program to the point that it's unusable."

Vinny looked at the screen. "Then we'll simply need to do a more thorough search. We've already been through 5 floors, so we can mark those off the list. I suppose we'll simply have to check the remaining floors one at a time." Luigi sighed, he wasn't gonna like this approach, but they didn't really have any other choice. Peach walked over to him. "Please, Luigi... Do this for Daisy, and Mario." E. Gadd then pulled up a map of the 6th floor. "Alright Vinny. Your information has been on point so far. Know anything that might be useful?" Vinny studied the map. "I believe so. That floor happens to be the gift shops. The only ghosts who can regularly be found on that floor are Kruller, and..." she paused. "Vinny?" Peach asked, in concern. "Sorry, just... my mother is usually on that floor."

Everyone in the room expressed their shock. "Your mother works there? I mean, I guess that makes sense. It'd be horrible for someone to leave their young daughter all by herself in some random hotel." Vinny looked at the floor. "Yes. For as long as I can remember, she's always treated me kindly. I can't possibly imagine her being one of those traitorous hooligans." E. Gadd leaned in his chair. "Then she probably won't be an issue. Alrighty! You two know what to do. Search that floor, and see if you can find anything." The two of them nodded, Vinny seeming reluctant, but that was understandable.

As the duo stood in the elevator, Vinny turned to Luigi. "Anyway, under normal circumstances, Kruller wouldn't be a threat whatsoever. From what I've heard, he grew up on TV shows of police taking crooks to justice, and foiling the ambitions of crime. Now he works as a security guard here, but he happens to have a fear of... pretty much everything." E. Gadd then chimes in on the Joyconnector. "Oh! So in other words, he's just like Luigi." A silence filled the room. "Erm... in terms of having big dreams. My mistake." Luigi was grateful the professor atleast felt inclined to cover up his brutal honesty. The doors to the 6th floor opened, and the two of them stepped off. "Alright. Let's do this thing." Vinny stated, as they both walked out into the darkness. It was nowhere near as dark as the 2nd floor, but to the paranoid mind, a ghost rat could be hiding behind any corner.

**(The music "Basement Floor" by Kevin MacLeod plays)**

"Not detecting any abnormalities at the moment, but stay on your guard." E. Gadd advised. They started exploring the floor. Through the various shops, and rooms. Luigi was surprised to see some mechakoopas available in the toy store, but in all likelihood they were just forgeries with all of their dangerous functions taken out. "Beanbean... Sarasaland... Dinosaur Island... I guess whoever collects the stuff for these shops is quite the explorer." Gadd commented. "Yes. We like to give our tourists a little bit of everything in our merchandise. Most of them were bought off a man named... 'El Piantisimo', I think it was... But yeah, he did seem to have a zest for adventure." They didn't find any leads so far, but they hadn't yet checked the security office. However, just as they were going to head in its direction, they saw the light of a flashlight peeking from down the hallway.

"Someone's coming. Hide!" Vinny whisper shouted. Luigi hid behind the counter, and Vinny possessed a life-sized Angelic Amber doll. Then, coming in with a nervous expression on his face was Kruller. His skin tone was the same hue of purple as Wolfgeist, and he did have a big gut to him, but not anywhere close to the degree of the phantom. He wore a stereotypical police officer outfit, and shakily held a flashlight in his hands. "Hello...? Is anyone there?" He asked, looking cautiously around the room with his flashlight. Luigi was probably just as scared of Kruller, as Kruller would be of him. Kruller did a double take, to be absolutely sure no one else was here. He then almost got a heart attack, as he floated by a mirror, causing it to creak. He pointed his flashlight at it, as he tried to calm down. "You talkin' to me...? You talkin' to me?" Luigi stayed silent, and Vinny stood still inside the doll. Feeling more confident, Kruller struck a dramatic pose at the mirror.

"You have the right... to remain silent." He said to himself, no doubt practicing his one-liners. He then floated over to the very doll Vinny was possessing, still unaware he wasn't alone. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'll keep you safe. I've done this a million times. Just doing my job, you know?" Vinny was finding it increasingly hard not to laugh at his display, knowing full well the jig would be up if she did. Kruller then flexed his muscles exaggeratedly. "You like my badge? Yeah, I get that a lot. Comes with the title, I suppose. One day, it'll shine as bright as the city streets... You know, because I'll... I'll clean up the streets? Of crime? Ugh, no, that doesn't sound right." At this point, Vinny was at her limit and the doll she was possessing cracked a smile, as her stifled laughter managed to break loose.

Kruller practically jumped out of his skin! "AH! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" He then ran er... floated as fast as he could out of there, fleeing into the security office and locking the door. Not long afterwards, some weird sound was heard. Luigi came out of his hiding spot, but Vinny spoke up through the doll. "Luigi, he just turned on the laser security system!" E. Gadd then weighed in. "Don't panic. Don't panic. Luigi, my boy. The dark light should be able to show you where the lasers are. From there, it's only a means of getting through without touching them." Luigi contemplated how terrible the profession of ghost hunting is, but he complied. When the lasers were revealed, they were all pink instead of red. "Phantom lasers!? I didn't even think those were possible! Be wary, Vinny. Those things will work on you too." If there was any time to channel their inner James Blonde, this was it.

**(The music "Midnight Museum - Main Theme 2" from Skylanders: Trap Team plays)**

Vinny exited her hiding place, as she and Luigi carefully weaved around the lasers. Perfectly aware that one wrong movement would mean getting fried. Vinny did have the advantage, since she didn't have to obey the laws of gravity, but she did have to take special care to avoid having the ends of her hair sliced. After a few minutes of tension, they were able to get out of the store and into the relative safety of the space between them. With that conundrum over, they shifted focus to breaking into Kruller's office. They went up the escalators to get there. Vinny always enjoyed the escalators for no apparent reason. Probably because they were an interesting method of going from one place to another. The world needed more of them. And moving sidewalks.

When they reached the top, they saw another ghost standing there, but facing away from them. It was a thin, but curvaceous woman. She wore a black fur coat, and a long silk dress. She had a black beret, and an onyx ring on her finger. Her skin was pale like Vinny's, and she had matching black hair in a pixie cut. She was holding a Japanese style fan. Luigi went quiet at the sight of her, but Vinny approached her. "Mother...?" The woman turned around, and greeted her daughter with an inviting smile. "Vinny, it warms my heart to know you've decided to pay me a visit. But really, sweetheart, it's way past your bedtime. You should be asleep." Vinny was relieved to see her mother's outward kindness hadn't changed. "There were some... complications. I'm hoping to sort them out as soon as possible." Elline knelt down and hugged her. "That's okay. Just don't make a habit of it. Your father was committed to his work, and soon enough it was like he forgot about the outside world altogether. So understand that I'll always be here for you."

Vinny blushed, and hugged back. "Don't fret, I have no intention of that... Mother, I don't think it's safe in the hotel. Someone is using our staff for their own devices." It was only at this moment Elline noticed Luigi. Then silence filled the room. "Vinny... Is that man the one causing all these problems around here?" She spoke in a warning tone. Vinny stopped hugging. "No, this is our guest. He's actually helping me with the investigation." Luigi waved, trying not to seem afraid. Elline narrowed her eyes at him. "It's unmistakable... The overalls, the mustache. You. You're Luigi, aren't you?" Luigi swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. Elline paused, like a predator analyzing her prey. "Vinny, darling. You can get some rest, now. I've located the source of our problem, and I don't want you getting hurt over it." She snapped her fingers, and summoned some ghosts. Yellow ghosts, with a very lanky build. They were oozers. Not really that tough, but they have a pension for throwing blunt objects at their enemies.

"Mother, what are you doing!?" Elline stood there with an empty expression. "Don't fret. I've given them specific orders not to hurt you. But please stay away from that man. He's a bad influence." She then floated away, vanishing through the ceiling. The oozers then picked up some random knick knacks to toss at Luigi. "Be careful, Luigi!" Peach voiced through the Joyconnector. Luigi ducked behind cover, as the oozers threw whatever they could at him. When they rushed over to get more ammo, Luigi used the opportunity to suck two of them up. Leaving only the other two remaining. One of them threw a globe at the plumber, but Vinny grabbed it mid-air, and chucked it back at him. It landed straight in his mouth, getting stuck as the other ghost tried to rectify the situation with the heimlich maneuver, but Luigi quickly sucked them up as well. The final oozer forcibly spitting out the globe, as the joined his friends in the poltergust.

After the fight, Luigi walked over to Vinny. Clearly she wasn't taking this turn of events very well. Vinny then walked over, and kicked a trash can across the room. Thankfully, it was an empty one. "Has the whole world gone to madness!?" E. Gadd then rang up. "Give her a minute to herself, Luigi. I'm sure she just needs time to think. Anyway, I believe there's a way to break into Kruller's office. There should be a vent nearby that will get you there." Luigi obliged. He opened the entrance to the vents. Taking a moment to look back at Vinny, who was moping on a bench. Right now, his top priority was seeing if there was anything he needed in that office. He climbed into the vent, and started doing the old army crawl. He had been in many pipes over the years on his adventures with Mario, but this was the first time he'd ever been crawling through a vent.

He heard a muffled voice that was unmistakably Kruller, and started heading towards it. "...You saved us, officer! How can we ever repay you?" He said to himself in a shrill voice, trying to imitate a little kid. "Oh, that? Pfft. It was nothing. I've dealt with micro goombas that are scarier than that guy." Luigi then peered down through the vent to see Kruller sitting in his chair eating a doughnut, and watching a clip from a Lego Police short. "Hohoho, yes. That one's a keeper. Actually... Let me write that down, real quick. I know I left my notebook in her somewhere..." He said, searching through his desk's cabinets. Luigi continued creeping by, but he then felt a jolt as one of the bolts in the vent he was on came loose. "Ah! Here it is. Oh wait, I forgot the pen's our of ink. Hmm, lemme see here, do I have another one?" The vent started shuddering and shaking, as Luigi hoped it would hold. But alas, the vent collapsed, and he fell through the ceiling. Landing right on his face in front of Kruller's desk.

"What- Whozat!? Whyzat!?" He screamed, scrambling to get his flashlight, at which point, he turned it on and looked at Luigi. Luigi innocently waved, sitting up from the rubble. Kruller then fell out of his seat with fright. He cowered behind his desk. "Oh no. Oh no. It's him...! The boss is gonna take my badge if I don't catch him...!" He then peered onto his desk, to see a pair of sunglasses. He then dawned a brave face. "No... You gotta do Chase McCain proud! Gotta show them why people respect the law...!" He put on the sunglasses, something that seemed to boost his confidence dramatically. He then peered our from behind the desk, as if peeking from behind cover. "Alright, sir. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. And you don't want the hard way." He then dramatically slided our from behind cover, but his slide didn't make it the whole way, so he sorta... awkwardly scooted to where he was trying to reach.

Said place was behind a pair of metal bars, protecting where they kept all the storage. He then dove through one of the many discarded cardboard boxes, trying to find something that will help him. First, he found a plushy of Scaredy Rat, which he immediately threw away in a panic. Then came a familiar looking paintbrush with the E. Gadd logo on it, which he also threw away. And then, he reached in to find what he was looking for: a super soaker. Using his wit, Luigi brought out Gooigi to slip through the bars and take on Kruller for him. Kruller was horrified that the bars didn't protect him, but he still stuck to his guns. "Alright then. Don't say I didn't warn you, sir." He and Gooigi then engaged in combat. "Uhm... I know this is a bad time to mention, but Gooigi dissolves in water... This isn't good." E. Gadd mentioned.

Regardless, Gooigi used his strobulb on Kruller, but his sunglasses protected him from his light. "When I take you down, maybe I'll even get a promotion! Everyone will love me!" He fired his super soaker at Gooigi, who skillfully avoided the attack, as he started using his vacuum. Kruller, noticing what he was doing, held onto his glasses hard as he engaged in a tug of war with the sentient blob of slime, squirting his water gun in the air in the hopes of hitting Gooigi. And while a few stray drops landed on the even greener Green Thunder, he still remained standing, and successfully sucked up his shades. "Oh man, this'd be so cool if only this were a movie!" Kruller said, as he dropped the weapon and tried to make a break for it, but Luigi was still on the other side, and began sucking him up. As Kruller was pulled in by the vacuum, he got out his radio. "Officer down, repeat! Officer dow-" and then he was captured.

It was a shame that nothing turned up on this floor. But if it meant anything, at the very least that narrowed down the choices of where left to look. Luigi walked back out, to find Vinny leaning on the guard rails longingly. Luigi walked over again, Vinny's pout had eased into a frown. Realizing her comrade was back, she put on a strong face. "So you got him? I had little doubt you would. Sorry you had to see me lose my composure like that... You understand how these things can weigh down on you." Luigi looked at her, once again expressing his concern. She sighed. "I'm okay, Luigi... The sooner we catch whoever's orchestrating this madness, the sooner everything can go back to the way it was." She then stood upright again, brushing her worries aside for the time. "Now come on. Let's continue our search." Luigi nodded, and the two hopped back on the elevator.

**(Oh, and uhh, not to ruin the atmosphere or anything, but that "James Blonde" thing? That was not a typo. It was a reference to episode 127 of The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, where a parody of James Bond featuring that same name happens to make an appearance. Stupid? Maybe. But I like to flex my reference muscles any chance I get in this story. There are a bunch of them sprinkled in the previous chapters already, so it's only natural to keep the ball rolling.)**


	7. Excalibur

Long ago, there was a kingdom. A kingdom ruled by the Extriva bloodline. However, one day the king's half sister, Faye Morgana, conspired against him. Jealous of his claim to the throne, despite being raised by peasants, Faye, a feared practitioner of the dark arts, conspired to absolutely destroy him at all costs. It was a task she never lived to accomplish. But in her dying breath, she imparted a curse: a shadow of her ambition would one day rise, and when they did, her brother would be trapped in an eternal state of limbo by that shadow. Unable to pass on, as the entirety of his kingdom fell into ruin...

Vinny and Luigi departed the elevator, walking along the cobblestone floor. A cold draft invading the entirety of the floor, as they looked at the torches aligning the walls. Most of which were barely alight. "This is one of the more... eccentric floors, Luigi. It was built as a means of providing entertainment to the guests, by letting them watch jousting matches and such." As they walked, they saw it: Extriva Castle. A blue mist in the air, with the walls of the room itself painted black, to give the illusion of a starless night sky. The front gates were rusty, and looked about ready to collapse any minute. "Golly... I'm impressed. How did you guys manage to fit an entire castle on a single floor?" Peach asked through the Joyconnector. "Well, in truth it's MUCH smaller than a real castle. But I believe this floor employs what the construction crew labeled _'funhouse design'. _And apparently it's able to make it possible for a floor to look bigger on the inside, than the outside."

They carefully opened the gate, as it squeaked very loudly. One of the tapestries on the castle walls coming undone, and falling into the moat, where it is immediately eaten by ghost alligators. The drawbridge is up. Figures. "Hmm. Just spitballing here, but I have the feeling someone doesn't want us going in there." E. Gadd stated. Vinny folded her arms. "Want or not, we're not gonna squat out here hoping they give in." Normally Vinny would just float across, but alligators are capable of leaping out of the water, and she didn't wanna run the risk. That's when they noticed an odd shadow being cast to their right, but nothing was casting it. Luigi knew what to do, and use the dark light on it to reveal a catapult. "Hmm... Not exactly the ideal way of gaining entry, but..." The two of them then rolled the catapult into place, before Vinny got in position to launch it. Luigi looked down at the alligators, one of which licked its lips in anticipation.

"Alright, Luigi. I'll make sure you land safely on the other side." Luigi nervously shuddered at the thought of being launched. "Sorry, but it has to be you. Unlike me, you have the luxury of wearing pants." Luigi was about to resign to his fate, but then he remembered something: he then brought out Gooigi. "Ahh, good thinking." Gooigi then sat on the catapult, and the two of them launched him together. He flew over the moat, and the raised drawbridge and successfully made it to his destination. From there, he pulled the lever to lower the drawbridge, and they were now able to cross without incident. Luigi high-fived Gooigi, and returned him to the poltergust. Now it was time to enter Extriva Castle...

(**The music "King Bowser's Castle 2" from Yoshi's Woolly World plays)**

The duo walked into the front hall, greeted by some really dusty and ancient looking decor. As well as a ghost boy leaning against a wall with a rose in his mouth. He wore black armor, and had blonde hair that flowed down to the top of his neck. His skin was a hue of light green, and he wore a silver crown that had the appearance of being made of thorns. "Prince Mordread..." Vinny stated, in a disinterested tone. Mordread then stood straight up, and removed the Rose from his mouth, brandishing it in his hand. When he spoke, his voice had a British accent to it. "I could tell by the rise of the moon, you'd be joining me for a visit, luv." He then casually walked over, and sniffed Vinny like a dog. Something that visibly bothered her. "Strawberry hand lotion, milady?" She then clonked him on the head. "Perhaps I should remind you that you're already in hot water with the president from your previous flirting attempts." He rubbed his head. "First off, ow. That was... that was ow, right there. And secondly, I am royalty. It's not like the old man has any status over me."

Vinny sighed, as Luigi watched the scene unfold. "Now if you're done making stupid remarks, we would like to know if there's a peculiar life-like painting that had been transported to this floor earlier this night." Mordread smirked. "If I told you, would you promise to go on a date with me?" Vinny shot him a look that conveyed he shouldn't push his luck. "I'm joking. Chill. And yes, as a matter of fact, there was. Why?" Vinny dropped the death stare. "That's not important. Do you know where it is?" He smugly smiled. "Of course. My father has it. Said it was a gift from the higher ups." Vinny scanned his expression for any hint of deception. "_'Higher ups'? _What are you trying to imply?" He wagged his finger at her. "Hey, I'm just saying it as it is. Don't duel the messenger." Vinny thought about it for a moment. "Well, if this is some sort of inside job, it would explain why all the staff are working for them."

Mordread then tried to hand Vinny his rose. "Obviously that washed up has-been I call a dad isn't gonna hand over the painting without a fight. How about a gift, for luck?" Vinny went back to being repulsed. "Nice try, but its probably got your germs and saliva all over it." Mordread shrugged. "Suit yourself. When you need your prince to come rescue you, you'll know where I'll be." He then vanished. He didn't even notice Luigi at all. That, or he just didn't care enough to mention it. "Yeesh, I'm guessing you two have a history?" E. Gadd inquired. Vinny rolled her eyes. "He's just one of those guys who can't seem to take a hint. Don't mind him. You could probably draw a pretty face on a tree, and he'd act the same." With that scuffle out of the way, they proceed deeper into the castle. They eventually find themselves entering the stands of a gladiator style arena. And there, in the center of it was Vlad Extriva. King of this castle. He had a white beard, and purple armor with neon blue trim. A purple and gold crown on his head, and an eyepatch over one eye. A scar running across his face. And his skin color was a light hue of yellow, and he was shriveled and decrepit from old age. He had a tired look in his eyes, as he stood there in the arena. Not really doing anything, just staring at the ground.

The two of them were confused, but decided it'd be a good idea not to alert him to their presence. But then... they saw a goob on the other side of the stadium holding a ye olden trumpet. He looked across the arena with a smile on his face, raising his eye brows to imply what he was about to do. Luigi gave him a pleading expression, while Vinny looked around for somewhere to hide. But alas, the seats were too small to cover them. The goob then obnoxiously blew the trumpet, as Vlad jumped to life! "Mordread... Mordread! He's here somewhere. Where...! _Wheeere...!" _He then looked up at where the goob was. It immediately ran for its life, as the king shifted his focus to his uninvited guests. His eye twitched. "You...! Mordread! I will break the curse! I will destroy you! YOU WILL KNOW TRUE TERROR!" The Kong's sanity had long since collapsed, and he legitimately believed the they were Mordread.

Vinny grabbed Luigi's arm, as the two of them started running. At first Luigi didn't see why, considering Vlad was all the way down there, but he realized what the danger was as the scabbard around his waist started to glow blue, and he started getting bigger. "Goodness...!" Peach gasped, as Vlad soon towered over the arena and pulled out his sword. Vinny and Luigi ran into the barracks nearby, hoping it'd provide some protection as Vinny explained the situation. "The king's scabbard contains the ghost energy of everyone he once ruled. If we don't get it off him, we're as good as doomed." The both of them screamed as a giant sword sliced off the roof. "You have nowhere to hide, coward!" Vlad said, as he tried ramming his sword down on them. The room shook, as the king's colossal hand invaded the space. His mighty blade striking down through the floor. Though he was terrified, Luigi could see the armor on Vlad's hand was just as ancient as he is. It was practically falling apart itself.

"Luigi, I believe the poltergust may be able to suck up chunks of his gauntlet! Maybe we can find a way to hurt him from there!" With the backing of E. Gadd's brain power, Luigi got to work. Avoiding the bits of falling debris around him as he started sucking away at the gauntlet. "What are you up to, scoundrel?" Vlad questioned, as he struggled to free his sword from its place. Against the suction of the poltergust, the armor around his hand soon crumbled to dust. Vinny then grabbed a nearby torch and used it to set the king's hand on fire! Letting go of the sword briefly as the fire spread across his hand, the king smashed it against the far wall of the arena in a frenzy to put it out. And he was successful, that attack only proving to anger him forward. "Agh! You'll regret that, you little hooligan!" Finally ripping his sword free from the stone, he reeled back to swing it. "Brace yourself, Luigi!" Vinny warned, as the both of them jumped onto Vlad's sword mid-swing. Holding on for dear life, as it raised into the sky.

They hung on to the best of their abilities, as Vlad impatiently looked at the room. Not seeing where they went. "I know you're here somewhere... Hiding like this? It's very befitting of you." Vinny lost her grip, and screamed as she fell towards the ground. Luigi watching in horror, unable to do anything. Thankfully, she grabbed onto his scabbard before she fell too far. Luigi breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived, as the sword started moving again. "I will break your curse on this castle, even if I have to destroy everything in... it?" Luigi swallowed hard, as Vlad rose his sword to eye level to see Luigi. Luigi found himself paralyzed with fear as a giant pair of eyes stared him down. "Ah... I see. Clever. Very clever. But not enough to escape my wrath." He lifted Luigi by the foot with his finger and thumb. "One power you _don't _possess is flight. To think your reign of terror would end in such an anticlimactic fashion. Any last words, Mordread?" However, as he was saying this, a ripping sound was heard. The belt that attached his scabbard was tearing from old age, and Vinny's attempts to stay on. By the time the king noticed what was going on, his belt had ripped. Vinny and the scabbard fell to the ground, but fortunately the scabbard broke her fall. Vlad could only stare in disbelief as he started to shrink back down, his pants having fallen off with his belt no longer holding them up.

Finally back down to his normal size, and pantsed in front of his opponents, Vinny covered her eyes at the ridiculous sight before her as Luigi, still hanging upside down from the king's hand, flashed him with the strobulb and sucked him up. "What sorcery is thiiiiiiiis-!" Captured, and contained. Vinny dusted herself off, and rejoined her friend. "Don't know how, but we made it through that one. One thing has atleast been made apparent though." Luigi looked at her questioningly. "The painting isn't on this floor. After that fight, I believe this might have been one giant trap by Mordread." Luigi then froze, as Vinny looked at where he was looking. "Aww, you wound me, luv. You really do." There was Mordread. Holding the king's scabbard in his hands, and giving a cocky smile. "You lies to us! You deliberately set us against Vlad to have us killed!" Mordread's smirk grew wider,

"Don't take it personally, fair maiden. That was just a happy coincidence, really." E. Gadd then spoke up through the Joyconnector. "Elaborate, you fiend!" Mordread gave his rose a good sniff. "It's true, we were offered a HUGE horde of coins for the green man's capture. But there's something more important than money, my dear. _Power. _The power befitting of this kingdom's rightful king. And thanks to you..." He then held up the scabbard as it flowed ominously. "There's no one else who can stand in the way of that. The power of the scabbard? The kingdom my old man refused me and my aunt? All of it belongs to **ME!**" They then watched, as he channeled the magic in the scabbard, enveloping him in a cloud of darkness. "Just when you think you've lost all sympathy for that no-good double crossing... Urgh! Let's take this guy down, Luigi!" Luigi nodded, and readied his poltergust. Mordread has transformed into a dragon made out of darkness! His black wings flapping intimidatingly over his foes. **"It's really a shame. You could've been my queen, Vinny. But now it seems I'll have to destroy you. Oh well. I'll find another girl. Preferably, one who doesn't give me so much lip."**

**(The music "confrontation" from Soul Caliber 2 plays)**

"Better plan on canceling your coronation, because there is NO WAY I'm losing to a punk like you!" Vinny flew up to take on Mordread as Luigi watched from ground. Mordread flew across the sky, blasting orbs of fire from his mouth, as tried to keep a distance. Vinny dodged his airborn volley, and kicked him across the face. As he reeled, she got on his back and forcefully steered him back towards the ground. "Be ready, Luigi!" She called. Luigi stood in place, as the beast whooshed by, he used his poltergust to zap away at his vitality. Narrowly avoiding a wall, Mordread wrestled Vinny off of him, and crushed her throat in his claws.** "The world is my plaything. You are no exception. I am your king, and you WILL respect me!" **But before he could successfully choke Vinny out of consciousness, Luigi shot out a plunger onto his face. Forcing him to drop her and try to get it off of him. Vinny hit the floor before scrambling to her feet, clutching her windpipe. "Thanks for the save..."

Mordread freed his face, briefly pondering if that plunger had been used before returning his attention to the fight. He then flew towards Luigi, and grabbed him by the face! Grinding him across the sand and then lifting him into the air. "Oh no you don't!" Vinny quickly grabbed a sword from a nearby suit of armor and flew up after them. Mordread held Luigi up to him, as the plumber helplessly struggled to escape from his grasp. **"Of all the people she'd get along with better than me, and she chooses _you!? _A _plumber!? _Ha! What a story that'll make! But I'm afraid yours ends here." **He then started charging up a blast of fire in his jaws. But Vinny then raced in, sword in hand. "That call is not yours to make!" She then plunged the sword down his windpipe, getting his attack stuck in his mouth before it explodes inside of him, smoke rising from his ears, as he and Luigi tumble towards the ground. Just before Luigi hit the ground, Vinny grabbed him and floated him down to safety. Mordread meanwhile, got a face full of sand.

"Alright Luigi! Finish him off!" E. Gadd cheered. Luigi nodded, as he started sucking Mordread in, taking advantage of his dazed state. But because his dragon form had wings, it was proving quite difficult. So Luigi started yanking the capture stream back and forth, sending Mordread flying with it. Cleaning him straight through walls, and smashing his skull into the floor. Now he was exhausted, beaten, and downright humiliated. But he still had one last trick up his sleeve. **"I didn't wanna do this. But you leave me no choice..." **He started charging up all his energy into a single attack. His body eminating with energy as he prepared to charge at them. Luigi pointed his poltergust, with Vinny holding onto it as well for extra support. Mordread came at them full speed, and the two of them activated the blowing function on the poltergust to blow the dragon back.

At first, he was slowly inching forward, as the incredible turbulence pushed him as much as it could, but as he was _almost _close enough to complete his attack. "You know, I thought you looked very handsome in battle, my prince." Vinny said the one thing that could break his focus in a time like this. Mordread was so flabbergasted, that it gave Luigi the moment he needed to take him down. Mordread was splattered against the wall one last time, finally laying on the ground in total defeat. His dragon form dissipated, and he was reduced to a normal ghost once again. "How...? Why...? I'm the king...!" Vinny sighed. "You can be king in a containment pod. I'm sure your father has much to discuss with you." Luigi then activated the poltergust one last time. "Yooouuu cannoOOOT WIIIIIIIN-!" He screamed, as he was suctioned up.

That was quite a trying ordeal, but now it was over. This floor didn't have what they were looking for, so that left a total of 9 remaining. Including the upper 8 floors, and the basement. Luigi wiped the sweat off his brow. "That was awesome!" He turned his head to see Vinny. That caught him off guard. For a moment, her voice sounded like another young female ghost they've met. Vinny herself seemed quite surprised. "Sorry Luigi, I have... I have no idea where that came from. But hey, we made it through this. All things considered, that's pretty good." E. Gadd then called them on the Joyconnector. "That was a wonderful display of teamwork. Great job! Why don't you two come on down for a bit? No doubt you're both tired. Besides, Peach has made some cake, and you just _have _to try it." Vinny and Luigi agreed with the notion, and started heading back towards the elevator.

"You know Luigi, I just realized that of all the people to break the curse on Vlad and his kingdom, it was you and me. All things considered, that's quite the achievement." Luigi raised an eyebrow in confusion, obviously not knowing what curse she was referring to. Vinny smiled. "I'll tell you about it in the lab..."


	8. Be our guest

Back at the lab, everyone was enjoying Peach's cake. Everyone except Vinny, because she obviously couldn't eat it. Being a ghost really stinks in that regard. E. Gadd gazed at his monitor. "Say Peach, wasn't the 8th floor where you and Daisy were kidnapped?" Peach nodded. "I recall we were receiving a pedicure, when... suddenly I fell asleep, for some reason. The next thing I remember was you two setting me free." Vinny had briefly taken her shoes off, so as to relax better. "I presume the person overseeing your relaxation was Hellen Gravely?" Peach looked surprised. "Yeah, I believe she was... How did you guess?" Vinny stretched. "Gravely used to be a hypnotherapist before coming to work here. And an old friend of my mother's. If I remember her record correctly, she was mentored by someone named _'The Contessa'_...?"

Peach leaned back in her chair. "Well, if anyone would know where Daisy is, in all likelihood, it's her." Luigi nodded, all of them seeming to agree with that logic. E. Gadd then directed their attention to the screen, to show a map of floor 8. "Yes. But it's for this reason that she appears to have prepared for our arrival. According to my scanners, the entirety of the floor is crop-dusted with the same mist we encountered with Amadeus Wolfgeist." Vinny gazed at the screen. "Ugh. Don't remind me. That stuff really screwed with my head." E. Gadd turned to face them. "Thankfully, it appears the dosage shouldn't be enough to manage the same effect as before. But if my calculations are correct, it _will _be capable of inducing hallucinations." Vinny thought about it for a second. "Well... as long as you're able to tell us fact from fantasy, we should be fine, right...?" E. Gadd shrugged. "In theory. Just remember, the longer you're exposed, the harder it will be to stay in touch with reality."

Vinny stood up. "I imagine she'd probably have to pump it through the ventilation system somewhere. Our first priority should be finding out where, and cutting off the supply." Sounded like a plan. Luigi finished the last of his cake slice, and the two walked out for more investigating. "Please, come back safe." Peach pleased. They both nodded, and went back into the hotel. His memory returning to his time in his hotel room, Luigi was perplexed how the spa could be any more relaxing. Too bad he wasn't gonna be finding out tonight. Or any night, for that matter. Because as soon as he saves his friends and helps out Vinny, he is O-U-double T, out! The elevator doors opened, and the reception room was dimly lit. The moonlight through the windows providing most of the visibility. And just as E. Gadd said, that same purple mist floated ominously along the floor.

**(The music "Kalos Power Plant" from Pokémon X/Y plays)**

Before the two of them even did anything, they heard a voice. "To think these halls were once filled with joy and happiness..." A woman then materialized from the darkness. Purple skin, and a slim white gown. Her blue hair was styled into a _very _large beehive. She also wore a blue fur scarf. In her arms was a pink ghost cat. "But that was a bygone era. This hotel is haunted not only by the spirits of its staff, but also the tragic thought of what could have been." Vinny and Luigi hesitantly stepped into the mist, to get closer to her. "This isn't the time for poetic speeches, Gravely. Fact of the matter is, you took part in this conspiracy. You can either let us survey the floor freely, or be subdued." Gravely frowned. "I made a promise to Elline that I wouldn't make this any harder than it has to be. You know she loves you with all her heart, Vinny." Vinny looked down at the floor. "Of course I do. But I can't just pretend like nothing's wrong. If possible, I have to fix it somehow."

Gravely stroked her cat. "I understand how you feel. But there's a reason why all this is happening. It's only out of kindness that we're not telling you that reason." Vinny exhaled. "If that's true... then atleast it explains some of the behavior we've been seeing." She then looked back up at Gravely. "But something very wrong has gone down, and it's against my nature to ignore it." Gravely sighed. "Very well. If that's your choice, I'll respect it. However, don't think I won't slow you down..." She then vanished into the shadows. "Don't forget the plan. The you're exposed to that stuff, the worse the effects will get." E. Gadd reminded them. So off they went, splitting up to look for whatever was supplying this mist.

As Vinny explored the rooms, the darkness and the solitude gave her a clear mind. And that clear mind made her start thinking of things that she had repressed. As she began thinking about him, she imagined her father standing there. His head hung low in disappointment. His dark blue suit, his black shirt, his black hair, combed in a neat and fancy way. He didn't say anything to her, but she still felt the bitter memories. He never directly showed any resentment towards her, but... She always felt that way. He was never there, always slaving away in his office. Whenever she addressed him as father, he'd correct her saying that he'd prefer her to call him President. Mother always made her feel wanted, but she could never really shake the hole in her life meant for him. She knew he wasn't actually standing there, but it still felt real to her. A tear ran down her face, as she tried to look strong. And then... she started singing.

"Maybe I've made things a mess... And maybe you're right to have doubts in me..." She tried to fight the tide of sadness, but it was already flooding back to her. "Maybe, but nevertheless... If you _for once _could just trust me...!" She didn't even remember doing anything to make him this disapproving of her, but it hurt. It REALLY hurt. "Just this once, let me come through for you. The way that you'd want me to..." by now she was already crying, but she still wanted to get her message across, as the hallucination of her father looked away dismissively. At that moment, she had found the painting of Daisy guarded by Gravely's pink cat. Whom had mutated into its true form, of a terrifying panther-like monster. But she wasn't gonna let it stop her. Not here! Not now! She engaged in a fight with it, while still singing.

"Let me make you proud. Let me show you the best in me. Let me give you a reason to believe, that I can stand tall." She grabbed polterkitty by one of its four tails, and flung it into a wall. But polterkitty got back up, bearing its claws, but Vinny had no intentions of losing today. She grabbed it by the wrists mid-charge, and kept its razor sharp claws at bay. "And when I return. And I'm more than you'd dreamt I'd be..." She then overpowered it, tossing it into the ceiling's chandelier. Causing both to plummet to the floor, and polterkitty to be trapped in the fallen chandelier's cage-like grip. "Maybe then you will realize that you never actually knew me at all." She saw the hallucination of her father walking stoically through the door. Vinny quickly perched the painting near the door while she goes and fetches Luigi. Knowing she'd need her hands free in case anything else comes to attack her.

She ran after the hallucination, trying to look up into his eyes as he looked away at every opportunity. "Sure, I've made lots of mistakes. I know that I've disappointed you. Still though, whatever it takes. I'm gonna fix it, just watch me." He then faded away into dust, as if to symbolize how she felt about him. She then floated through the hallways looking for Luigi. "Just you wait, I'll make it up to you. If it's the last thing I ever do..." she kicked down the door, to see Luigi surrounded by some slinkers. They were purple ghosts, with a talent of surprising their prey. But Vinny welcomed this as a chance to prove herself. She started distracting them one by one, so Luigi could suck them up. "I will make you proud. I will make you have faith in me. I will prove that the way I used to be, is all in the past. I will save the day. And come back here triumphantly. Cause I long for that look of surprise, when you see your girl rising at last." Once they were all taken care of, they noticed a perfume bottle pumping the mist into the ventilation system. Luigi promptly sucked it up, dispelling the illusions. "The pride in your eyes, when you see your girl rising at last."

Luigi then clapped for her, only now drawing light to the fact that she was singing. She got so caught up in her emotions that she forgot. "You have a beautiful voice, Vinny. Where did you learn to-" Peach asked, as Vinny blushed, and looked away. "Wait... are you... crying?" Vinny bit her lip, and wiped the tears away. "Doesn't matter. I found where Daisy is. We should act fast, or Gravely will hide it somewhere else." The gang could tell from the lyrics they heard, that said tears came from a place of great emotional pain, but she was right. First things first. As they walked, Vinny started up a conversation in an attempt to make them forget what they saw. "I think I've always had a talent for singing. It's just that I've never really utilized it. I'm prone to stage fright." Luigi nodded, wanting her to feel less vulnerable.

When they made it back to the room with Daisy's painting in it, Luigi walked over and used the dark light on it... E. Gadd was confused. "Huh? This doesn't make any sense. It should be working." Luigi was just as puzzled as his mentor. But then a voice chimed in. "It is working. You just have the wrong painting." Both of them turned to see Hellen Gravely. Vinny took a defensive stance. "Are you saying it's a forgery?" Gravely nodded. "That's precisely what I'm saying. The real one is in the possession of Captain Vincent." She covered her mouth, realizing she just spilt the beans on Daisy's whereabouts, but it was too late. "Well, thanks for telling us. I do believe we have places to be." Vinny said, as the two bolted for the door, only for Gravely to block it. _"Absolutely _not. You've given your mother enough heartache as it is. Vincent doesn't have the same restraint as the rest of us. If he hurts you-" Vinny interrupted her.

"I'm very aware of the captain's tendencies. And Luigi will be here to keep me safe." Gravely then pulled out some vials of put purple liquid in one hand, and green in the other. "That's not enough. I didn't want to do this, but it looks like I'll have to bring you to your room by force!" She started throwing the vials everywhere, the green ones were poison, made for Luigi. And the others were sleep potions, meant for Vinny. Shards of glass were flying everywhere, as the duo looked for an opening. Luigi flashed her with the strobulb and started sucking her up, but just as she was almost there, she grabbed the fake painting and smashed it on Luigi's head. Causing him to lose his focus, and by extension, his grip on her. "You can be as nice as you want, we're not stopping till everything's back to normal." Vinny stated. Luigi started sucking her up again, but this time as she was about to grab something again, Vinny blocker her reach with her body. Causing her to be sucked away into the poltergust. "Sorry, Elline... I tried my best." Done. Contained.

With all that behind over, it was time to consider the next course of action. "Ironically, Captain Vincent is on floor 9. As you can probably guess, he's a pirate. He used to be an entertainer for the kids, but soon he was repurposed as the ghostly captain of his haunted pirate ship, for the more thrillseeking guests." E. Gadd then spoke up. "Intriguing. And by the signature coming from that floor, it appears she wasn't lying. We've finally found Daisy. Now all that's left is to go get her, in theory." Vinny nodded. "I likely don't need to tell you that Vincent is a fearsome warrior. Exercise caution to the best of your abilities, Luigi." Luigi agreed, and they both hopped on the elevator once more...

**(Hope you guys liked this. I know some of you may have found it cheesy, with the unprompted musical number and all, but I felt that was the best way to illustrate Vinny's relationship with Maxill. I'm not gonna lie... I got a bit choked up while writing that scene. Brought back some unhappy memories of my own. But I believe it's worth it, to tell a story like this.)**


	9. Black Lagoon

The opening of the elevator doors unionized with the Invadion of sea air. Though pirates are nowadays portrayed as goofy, or kindhearted, that simply wasn't the case in actual history. They were criminals, who looted and pillaged passing vessels, and whom don't take very kindly to any opposition to their line of work. The entirety of the room our heroic duo entered was floored with wooden planks, and had the overall theme of a pirate ship down in spades. The sound system even occasionally played a gentle creaking sound effect, to make it that bit more authentic. Though only lit by the wall-hung lanterns, Luigi was thankful that this room still seemed pretty safe.

"From what I've heard, this floor was modeled after the armada of the legendary king of the sea, Cortez. That said, I'm not exactly very confident in the fact that this floor has a giant pool of water that houses Vincent's ship. All it would take is _one_ hole in the right place, and the floors below would be flooded." E. Gadd thought about it a moment. "Yeah, I'm honestly surprised Maxill could afford all this stuff. Don't get me wrong, he was doing pretty swell when I left, but this is straight up bonkers. Bonkers, I say it is!" The duo then walked across the room, and didn't get far before they saw a huge fake ship hull lazily built over a part of the wall, as if built there just tonight. "Um... shouldn't there be a door to another room up there?" Peach inquired. Vinny felt the flimsy boards holding the thing together. "There is. But it's behind this monstrosity. Holding a guest captive is one thing, but straight up blocking us out? I do commend them on their persistence."

Luigi tried to use his poltergust's suction to destroy the construction, but while it did make it wobble, it ultimately didn't budge. "Sorry, feller. But it looks like that thing can stand up to a little air. Luigi was simultaneously disappointed that he couldn't get to his Daisy, and relieved that it meant he didn't have to contend with Captain Vincent for now. Vinny furrowed her brow in concern. "Well, what are we gonna do? We've come too far to give up now." There was a brief silence, as E. Gadd gathered his thoughts. "Hmm... well lessee here... Oh! Luigi, my boy. Can you go inspect that thing on your left?" Luigi faced the direction Gadd instructed, and saw a strange looking electrical outlet in the wall. One that had a light green hue, in the plug holes. Luigi walked over to it. "Ah, I was right. It's a power conduit. Glad to see my technology is still being implemented here."

Peach then spoke up. "What does it do, professor?" They heard some clicking on a keyboard. "Back in my glory days, I made those things to power my inventions wirelessly. In fact, I was planning on adding a new feature to the poltergust G-00 that would utilize that kind of power." Vinny tilted her head, "Can it help us in this situation?" More clicking. "Yes. It's a part that allows a thing I call _'super suction'. _That term is trademark by the way, so don't steal it. Anyway, it should give the poltergust a huge boost in sucking might. But ehehe... I happened to get captured before I could install it." Vinny folded her arms. "Why didn't you say anything about it until now?" she asked. "I'm old. My memory isn't what it was. But fortunately, my scanner has managed to trace the energy signature of the part we need. And it appears to be down in the basement levels."

Vinny frowned. "Oh great. Then we're likely to bump into Clem." Luigi raised an eyebrow. "Clem is our handyman. He's a redneck who does his job just fine. The problem is, he's got a big mouth. And he loves to run it on pretty much everyone who isn't the President. And I swear, he NEVER uses deodorant on those nasty stained pits of his." Luigi cracked a smile, thinking about how that sounded pretty similar to Waluigi. "All the more reason to retrieve it quickly. The basement floors are connected to the sewer system, right?" Vinny nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. I'll send you the fee for washing the stink out of my uniform when this is all over." They both headed on back to the elevator, and pressed the button for the basement floor. "If it's any consolation, maybe I can use this to pay my respect to my pet goldfish...? Given that you're a plumber, I suppose this won't be so harrowing for you." Luigi didn't think they'd find any goombas to stomp down there, but regardless, a sewer was a sewer.

**(The music "Lila's Theme (no voice)" from Scooby-Doo and the Spooky Swamp plays)**

Ding. The elevator doors opened once again. A few ghost rats scurrying away at the sight of them. The walls were decorated with metal plates, and pipes. Some exposed brickwork was also plentiful. Luigi was taken aback when he started hearing static on his Joyconnector, instead of sound. "Don't fret, it's very difficult for any frequency to travel down here. That said, it probably means we're gonna have to track this part down ourselves." She sighed. "Guess we might as well get started." Luigi nodded, and they journeyed into the tunnels ahead. The place was about as sanitary as one would expect. Mold, rust, mucus, all those things that would make a germaphobe queasy. There were a bunch of discarded items that littered the basement. Rubber duckies, black banana peels, etc.

When entering a particular section of the sewer, they saw a control booth in a spherical area. It was pristine, standing in star contrast to everything else. However, saw something else. Some_one _else. His skin color being the same purple-pink hue that many others in the hotel had. His greased up hair extended down to his shoulders. His lower jaw jutted out slightly, and a single tooth in the bottom row was bigger than the others. He wore yellow leather gloves, a white sleeveless shirt that had clearly never had a wash, and a baseball cap. He was playing a banjo, and leaning back in his chair, perched outside his control booth. And due to a lack of hiding spots, he spotted them almost instantly. "Wehl wehl wehl. Look who decided to come on down to see me." He had a country accent.

Vinny tried to stall him as she thought of a plan. "It was a real challenge trying to decipher the source of that rank odor: the sewer itself, or you." Clem laughed as he placed his banjo at his side, and stood up. "Issa smell of adrenaline, lil' girl. I thank of it as the sign of a job well done. You shood try it some tam. It ain't exactleh hard to walk people up an' down the joint." Vinny saw a motorboat in the water, which made her grimace at the thought that Clem drove around this nasty place. "I'd prefer not. At this point, you must have head lice, or a fungal infection somewhere on you. So yeah, no thanks." He then looked at Luigi. "Lemme hazard a guess: you want that fancy maguffin that science guy mayd, raight? WELL TOO BAD. I alredi strapped that doodad to a lil' somfing I made." Luigi confidently aimed his poltergust, as he charged at him, but Clem spun a valve attached to a nearby pipe, to send a burst of water splashing Luigi in the face.

Vinny of course floated over to apprehend him, but he floated into his control booth, and started fiddling with the gizmos inside. Through the speakers, he continued speaking. "This is my ticket to the big leagues, and I ain't lettin' it pass me by. I kin get meh hands dirty in more ways'en one." Seeing that she probably wouldn't be able to stop him from what he was doing in time, Vinny flew over and turned off the water flow hitting Luigi. "Still kicking, greenie?" She asked. Luigi got up on his feet, and rang the water out of his hat before giving a thumbs up. But then the alarms started blaring! **"ALERT! FLOOD CONTROL SYSTEMS COMPROMISED! PLEASE EVACUATE IN A SAFE AND EFFICIENT MANNER!" **And then Clem flew off through the tunnels with a smug look on his face."Y'all be good fer me!" The ground started to shake, as the alarms continued to screech. "No time for second guesses, Luigi. Get to the raft, hurry!" Luigi rushed over and hopped in, Vinny following suit.

Luigi tried to use the nozzle of the poltergust to paddle, as Vinny desperately tried to get the engine started. And then, they saw a cascade of water heading straight for them! "Come on, come on, start! Just start, darnit!" Just as she got it running, they were only seconds away from a very undignified wet demise. Well... Luigi was, anyway, since Vinny was already a ghost. They only got a few precious inches before the tide caught up to them. "Brace yourself!" They were sent surging forward, propelled forward by the immense force of the wave. And after a minute or two of pure terror, they finally came to a complete stop. The two of them laid there for a bit, wanting to drink in the relief of making through all that. "Ugh. It's like this entire place wants me to lose my lunch..." After their short breather, they started steering the raft around to try and find Clem, or the part. "Just look for something shiny. Chances are, it'll be what we're looking for."

After a short session of wading through the filthy water, nothing of interest was coming up. But then, the water started getting choppy. Vinny looked at Luigi. "Didn't Clem say something about an invention of his...? This isn't good." They started going faster, as something was echoing through the halls behind them. Fear was starting to take hold in their hearts. "Luigi... something's in the water...!" Luigi looked back to see some sort of metal behemoth swimming towards them. It had glowing spotlight eyes, and a huge jaw. "I'll take the wheel! You keep us as far away from that thing as possible!" Luigi started using the blow function on his poltergust to make them go faster, as the scaly monstrosity reared its horrifying mechanical head. It was a giant robotic alligator! Easily putting an Animal Planet show to shame. Snapping its jaws intimidatingly, with the intention of tearing them apart!

**(The music "The Smorgs" from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door plays)**

Vinny skillfully maneuvered the raft to avoid the mounds of garbage floating around in there. But the robogator wasn't gonna just idle during its menacing approach, and launched some mines out of its mouth, in an attempt to destroy them. Water was exploding into the air around them, and the raft was now essentially a waterborne bronco! Turning a corner, they saw Clem on the other side of the hallway holding a remote. And attached to it was what was unmistakably the part E. Gadd was talking about. "Havin' some fun yet, kiddies? WOOOOWEE!" Vinny groaned loudly, as she and Luigi ducked under the robogator's laser eyes. "This is about the **WORST **possible time for you to troll us right now, Clem!" Clem dawned a mocking grin as he saw them speeding his way. "Purdy thing, I know. But I keep forgetten tuh feed 'er. Dinner's on! And don't you go fergetin to protect your bellyache bulge, Molly!" He said, before gleefully running off.

Vinny would make a joke about him giving his creation a pet name, if she wasn't in a death race with it. "I'll stay on him!" The robogator kept up its hot pursuit, and launched a few missiles from its shoulders! Vinny jerked the wheel to the side to avoid the attack, as the missiles struck the wall ahead of them, causing debris to be sent flying. Seeing that direction was about to be buried, Vinny steered them down an alternate route. The robogator wasn't able to react that quickly however, and ended up getting brutally busted by slabs of falling concrete, but was still kicking all the same. Speedily jetting across the water, they eventually saw Clem up ahead. Still in the process of trying to ditch them. "Get ready, Luigi." Vinny instructed, as they zoomed closer to the grease monkey. Clem turned around, and was shocked to see them catch up so quickly. "Awright, yer startin' to get on ma ding darn nerves!" As soon as they were close enough, Luigi directed his poltergust at Clem, successfully latching onto him.

**(The music "Country Boy" from Fairly Odd Parents: Breakin' Da Rules plays)**

"Hey! Git your stewpid vacuum thang offa me!" Clem demanded, as he pulled away like an aggressive fish. The poltergust locker on, but unable to start pulling him in yet. All the while, the robogator continued its frenzy toward them. In Clem's escape, he tried tanking the raft towards danger. Somewhere further in the tunnel, Corporate Paraplonk, Sergeant Guy, and Private Goomba were carrying a pane of glass. All of a sudden, Corporate Paraplonk paused. "Hey guys...?" He asked. "Yes, Corporate?" Sergeant Guy asked. "Remind me why we're carrying a pane of glass in a sewer in the middle of nowhere, again?" Private Guy held the glass up with his head, since he lacked hands. "Don't you remember? We got a letter from some Blaeshood Sarephym person to do it. Said something about it being a _throwaway gag, _or something like that." Paraplonk sighed. "Are you sure it's not just that O'Chunks fellow pranking us again?" Then out of nowhere, Clem, Vinny and Luigi, and the robogator plowed straight through the glass. Shattering it into a thousand pieces. The three of them just stood there in complete disbelief. "Huh... Well that's uhh... a thing... anyone for tennis?" Goomba asked. "Yeah." Guy answered. "Sounds great." Paraplonk added.

The robogator was mere inches away, as Clem grabbed a mine out of the water. "Eat this, suckas!" But Luigi got an idea that very instant, and swung the poltergust's vacuum towards the robogator. Clem was send flying into his own creation, as it tried to back up, exposing its red underbelly, no doubt the bellyache bulge Clem was referring to. Luigi slammed Clem into that red spot, causing the robogator to explode into a pile of scrap metal. "My baby! Why I oughta...! Ai'll capchure you two, er my name ain't Clem Rusty-!" But before he could finish that sentence, Luigi sucked him up. Ironically sending the dirty hillbilly into the containment of a cleaning product. And with his invention in pieces, and the remote in their hands, they had won. "This whole ordeal has been more disgusting than an Adam Sandler movie. I'm glad it's over. Don't think I'll be touching that remote, we have no idea where Clem's gloves have been." Thankfully, Luigi was already wearing gloves. So he removed the piece, and attached it to the poltergust.

"Glad this wasn't all for nothing, but... how do we get out? The floor is still flooded." Luigi thought of something, and took control of the raft. As luck would have it, they had enough fuel to make it to where Luigi was thinking. He brought them to a part of the tunnels with a power conduit in it. "Ah! I see. Very clever, Luigi." Luigi smiled, as the energy from the conduit flowed into the poltergust. He pointed it at the water, and started sucking. A typhoon erupted from the poltergust, chaotically sucking up all the water. In minutes, it was back to its normal level, and they made their way back to the elevator. "That was a very trying ordeal. But somehow, someway, we made it through without getting wet." Vinny stated. A split second later, a dead fish fell from a pipe perched above them, unintentionally knocked off by a ghost rat. And it just so happened to land in Vinny's hair. Vinny didn't even have the strength to be angry about it, instead finding it mildly annoying as the fish slime made her skin crawl. "I just had to jinx myself, didn't I?"


	10. Deadstorm

Again, they rose to floor 9. The same ambience as before came washing in, as Vinny and Luigi left the elevator once more. "What happened down there, youngsters? We lost connection for a while, there." E. Gadd chimed, on the Joyconnector. Vinny was thankful they were back to a floor that was sufficiently clean. "We ran into some obstacles, but we got the part you needed." They approached the same ship hull that was blocking their way before. "That's great! Then chances are, you already know what to do. Luigi, my boy, if you would do the honors?" Luigi nodded, and stood near the power conduit as the poltergust was sent into overdrive once again. As his typhoon of suction activated once again, the ship hull started falling apart, wooden boards came flying out of it and into the poltergust with awe-inspiring speed. And after a minute or two of suction, it was done. The door was accessible. Luigi stepped away from the conduit, glad they were successful.

"Eureka! It worked! And looking at the schematics on this map, you shouldn't have that much ground to cover." As they approached the door, Vinny turned to Luigi. "Yes. Even so, we don't know what Captain Vincent will have in place for our arrival. One wrong decision may very well end with a burial at sea." Luigi swallowed hard, showing he agreed. And the two of them walked through the door, their guard up for whatever awaited them. They found themselves on a small beach, complete with a palm tree here and there. Beyond that, was a long dock made exclusively out of wood. The long runway of lumber leading up to a foreboding pirate ship with tattered black sails, and an ominous light blue glow around it. It quietly sat there, on the body of water underneath it. The calm before the storm.

**(The music "Tower's Puzzle" from Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle plays)**

"He's waiting for us..." Vinny stated, even though neither of them saw anyone on board. "If Daisy wasn't in a painting right now, she'd probably think this was awesome." Peach remarked, as the duo ventured onto the dock. The planks beneath them creaking with each step. The water had no fish in it, which was understandable, considering it'd be a pain to have to take care of them in such a huge tank. As they got closer, Luigi stopped for a moment. "What is it?" Luigi pointed to the ship, prompting Vinny to look and see the cannons were slowly turning by themselves to point at them. "Oh, crud..." They than began opening fire on them, blowing apart chunks of the dock with each shot. Vinny and Luigi were engaged in a sprint, as shards of wood and cannonballs filled the air. It was a less than joyful prospect, having to run _towards _the source of the whizzing iron balls of death, but they didn't have a choice in the matter. The both of them made it on board the ship, just in time as the last remnants of the dock had been blasted into the sea.

By the looks of it, the cannons were out of ammo. But still no sign of Captain Vincent. Unfortunately, getting up to Daisy meant climbing up the nets. And as pirate movies often show, it is incredibly easy to fall off. "Don't get too comfortable, fellers. I'm sensing some really volatile ghost energy flaring up in your location." E. Gadd warned. The blue glow around the ship started to condense into the center of the ship. Luigi and Vinny forming some distance from it. The mist congealed into a pillar of blue fog, and then a figure took shape within it. The sound of a buoy bell echoing across the ship. The fog then started to dissipate, revealing the nightmarish spirit within. It was a skeleton ghost, 7 feet tall. Dressed in a pirate coat, pants, boots, and a hat. He didn't wear an eyepatch, but his eyes gleamed with an ominous red light. He didn't wear a shirt either. While he wasn't particularly buff, his bones did seem sturdy. "Mine be the pirate's life..." His voice was dry, like someone who was really thirsty, but without a drink.

Vinny grimaced. "Yikes. You've seen better days." Vincent was looked down at them. Vinny putting on a brave face, while Luigi screamed in fear at the towering beast of a man looming over him. "By Poseidon's breath, if it isn't wee little Vinny Midnight. Been an eternity since ye've come by, lassee." Vinny dawned a puzzled expression. "What are you talking about? I've never set foot on this death trap of a vessel in my life." Captain Vincent then exhaled, as if remembering something. "Arrr, slipped my mind a moment, there. Can't blame ye fer fergettin'." He pulled up a wooden chair, and sat in it like a parent explaining something to their child. The shortness of said chair only bringing more attention to the staggering length of his limbs. "I'm very certain I would remember such a bizarre sight. But enough of the Sphinx riddles. You're the one holding Daisy captive, correct?" Vincent pulled out a gold coin from his coat pocket, and started turning it in his hand.

"Not exactly. It's true that I'm the one guardin' it, but if I'm being honest with mesself, I know how crooked this scheme of his is." Vinny and Luigi stood close to one another, in case he was setting them up. "So... what are you gonna do, then? Are you just gonna let us take her back...?" He then placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, still in its sheath. "Don't go makin' assumptions now, little lady." He then swiftly took out his sword, and plunged it into the floor. But because this ship had a lower deck, it didn't put them at risk for sinking. He rested his hands on his blade, and then his chin on his hands. "We buccaneers operate through raids, see? To the victor go the spoils, and all that. So I'll make you a deal: the three of us will battle right here, right now. And the victor keeps the paintin'. Sound fair?" Luigi and his ghostly companion looked at one another, to come to a consensus on the matter. After a minute, they had their answer. "We accept your challenge, Captain." Vincent smirked, or atleast as much as he could, since he didn't have lips. He stood up, and kicked his chair overboard as he drew his sword from the ground. "Hehehe. Somewhere in these old bones, I knew you were still the same deep down. Prepare yerself!"

**(The music "Mako Tsunami Theme" from Yugioh: Duel Links plays)**

Vincent tossed Vinny a sword, so that she had a means to defend herself before stomping so hard that the ship shook, and then utilizing the paralyzed state of his opponents to get a slice at them. Thankfully, Vinny weaved under the attack just in time, and Luigi shielded himself with the poltergust. Causing Vincent's blade to ding off of its metallic surface. "Back to Davy Jones' locker with you!" Vinny proclaimed, as she and the captain engaged in a duel. Luigi used his poltergust on on Vincent, but he was shocked to see it had no effect on him! "It appears he's too heavy for the poltergust to suck him up in one go, sonny!" Vinny gritted her teeth, as she struggled to keep up with the vicious flurry of sword swipes, looking for an opening. "Yar, this takes me back. The excitement in yer eyes when you played here. I'll admit, yer cheer was awfully infectious back then." Vinny wasn't in the mood for him spouting what sounded like mumbo jumbo to her in the middle of a sword fight. Taking advantage of her small size relative to him, she rolled under his legs and slashed at the back of his knee, forcing him to fall down.

Seeing his chance, Luigi used his poltergust, sucking up Vincent's arm. It wasn't his sword arm, but it was better than nothing. "I was hopin' to see that again in this fight. That's why I'm doin' this." Vinny was about to start attacking again, but saw Vincent was charging up an attack. He thrusted his sword forward, as some ghost sharks leaped out of the water, and swam across the deck in a straight line towards them. Scattering to avoid the attack, Luigi sucked up one of the ghost sharks by the tail and launched it at Vincent, but to his shock and slight amazement, Vincent sliced the airborne animal clean in half! That's when he got an idea. He spawned Gooigi, and the both of them sucked up a shark. But Vincent was definitely aware of what they had in mind, and got out his pistol. But Vinny sprang to action, swatting his weapon out of his hand and cutting off his leg.

Before he could retaliate, Luigi and Gooigi launches their sharks at him, blowing him backwards and knocking him over the railing. Luigi then sucked up his detached leg before it could reattach to the rest of him. Captain Vincent was now dangling over the edge of the ship. "Well, I'm sorry to say I don't remember any of that, Vincent. Besides, I've changed. I'm more responsible, more mature. It's just better this way." Vincent then vaulted back onto the ship, before proceeding to yank his anchor out of the sea and brandishing it as his new weapon. "I'm glad ye wanna improve. But ask yerself this: are these changes _actually _makin' you happy?" Vinny paused. She actually didn't have an answer for that. Was she actually happier, now that she was a more exemplary person? Somewhere along the way, did she lose sight of what she really wanted, without even noticing it? "Yer so committed to makin' yer daddy proud, that ye've forgotten how to live fer yerself." Vinny sighed. Vincent's statement, and Vinny's response told everyone listening that this was what she was so upset about on floor 8. "Maybe you're right... I wanted his approval more than anything in the world. Soon enough, nothing else seemed to matter anymore..."

"Bad things may have happened, Vinny. But that doesn't mean ye can't make things better." Vinny didn't know what to say. "Search yerself. Start over with a clean slate. I'm sure ye'll find the answers ye seek." Vinny looked back at Luigi, only now noticing a stray tear trailing down her face. But instead of wiping it away, she just let it fall. The first step to fixing a problem, was acknowledging it existed. "Alright then. Thanks for the advice. Now then... are you ready, captain?" Vincent smirked once more, and once again, he lacked the facial features to express it. "Have at me." Vinny and Luigi charged at him, as the captain swung that massive anchor in a way that showed how heavy it was, but could easily put the hurt on them. Taking advantage of his slower attacks, Vinny did combat with Vincent like a fencer, dodging the blunt object in his grip as she ripped his ribs to ribbons with her sword. Luigi meanwhile, mostly scurried behind him, sucking him up bit by bit, aided by Vinny whittling him down. Eventually his other leg was suctioned from underneath him, causing him to drop the anchor. And before he knew it, he was reduced to just a head and an arm.

They stopped their assault, as their opponent was unable to do any harm to them now. "Magnificent. I haven't had a spar like that in years. Ye have won, so as agreed, ye may have yer prize." The two of them nodded. "I'm glad we got to chat, captain." Vinny added. The two of them turned to start climbing the nest. "Wait. There is one more thing ye must know." They turned back around to face their skeletal friend. "On the next floor, floor 10, those magicians have some diary pages hidden away somewhere. He will do whatever he can to stop ye from findin' them, but ye must." Vinny raised an eyebrow. "Who is 'he'? Are you referring to the perpetrator?" Vincent would nod, if he could. "Aye. I thought ye'd have figured it out by now. He's-" but before he could finish his sentence, the water started to shake violently. Blue robotic tentacles rose from the tides! "What the!? What's going on!?"

Vincent looked at the tentacles, as they started to wrap around the ship. "The kraken robot...! But that was s'pposed to be deactivated a long time ago- Argh, I see what's happenin'. He's tryin' to destroy me so I can't tell ye the truth. You two climb the nets!" Vinny furrowed her brow. "And leave you here!? You can't be serious!" Vincent laughed. "Don't worry, lass. I've been evadin' death for a while now." Luigi took her hand, and the two climbed as the boat crackled and shook as the kraken started crushing it, with its mechanical might. Hanging on with all their might, as they got closer to Daisy. Sure enough, they got to the crow's nest. But what would they do now!? The bridge to land was destroyed, and they'd never get down in time! Were they going down with the ship!? But far below them, they spotted Vincent holding his sword in the only hand he had left. He sliced down the mast, causing them to be sent teetering down, but as he was trying to accomplish, the mast was _just _long enough to land them safely on the beach, Daisy's painting intact. And just in time, as the kraken submerged the ship under the ocean, never to be seen again.

As the duo dusted the sand off of themselves, they gazed back at where the ship used to be. "To think that the ghost of a floor would end up saving us..." Vinny spoke aloud. "His sacrifice won't be in vain. It's thanks to him we were able to save Daisy." E. Gadd exclaimed. Remembering that, Luigi propped Daisy's painting against a palm tree and used the darklight on it. To his joy and relief, Daisy popped out of the painting. Safe and sound. "Woah, that was... Golly, what was that...?" She scanned her surroundings. "Luigi? How did I get here? What's that silly thing on your back?" Peach then spoke up on the Joyconnector. "We were kidnapped by ghosts. I'm glad to see you're safe, Daisy." Daisy's eyes then lit up. "Wait, you mean this place is haunted? Wow! This place keeps getting better and better." Everyone just stood there in disbelief. "But then again, it was incredibly rude of them to stuff me into a picture frame. I swore Tatanga would be the last person to ever capture me. To this day, I STILL have him doing community service for his mischief."

She sighed. "All that, and I never got a chance to try out the pool. I told you Peach, it was my _destiny _to give it a shot, but does anyone listen to me around here?" Peach awkwardly paused. "This isn't the time for petty arguments, Daisy. You should come here to the lab, where it's safe." Daisy then looked at Luigi. "Yeah, you're probably right. Oh! And thanks for coming to my rescue Luigi. I can always count on my knight in shining overalls." She kissed him on the cheek, causing his face to go red. The three of them walked back to the elevator, only one more of Luigi's friends left trapped in this hotel: Mario. E. Gadd then realized something. "Wait a minute... Vinny, didn't Captain Vincent say your last name is Midnight?" He asked. "Yeah. Vinny Ikana Midnight. What about it?" E. Gadd gasped. "That means your father is Maxill! All this time I thought you were the daughter of one of the servants. But now that I think about it... I somewhat recall Maxill having a kid. Feels like a whole other lifetime ago." Vinny shrugged. "Yeah. Me and my dad aren't very close anymore... but I have a lot to think about. I don't know how, but maybe, just maybe, I can right the wrongs of our relationship." They all went in the elevator, and went back down...

**Meanwhile, somewhere else in the building...**

A shadowy figure sat in a chair, in an office. Their seat facing the window, which showed the moonlit sky in all its glory. Because their chair is turned away, it is hard to decipher who they are. "You um... wanted to see us, sir?" Three magician girls walked into the office. Elline standing outside the door like a guard. Each girl was blonde, and had pinkish-purple skin. They had white eyes, and their uniforms were that of a traditional magician, with the addition of capes. All colored violet. The figure did not spin around to face them. His silence making the triplets nervous. "S-sir?" The figure then spoke. His voice sounded tired, and lacked any emotion. "Nikki. Lindsey. Ginny. I'm certain I don't need to remind you of the oath you all swore. You would protect our secret at all costs..." the girls all shuddered, fearful of what he might say. Lindsey then broke the silence. "Indeed, sir. We remember quite... quite well." The figure seemed satisfied with that response. "Good. Because now it's time to put that commitment to the test. They're coming for you. I trust you're adequately prepared."

Nikki nervously twiddled her thumbs. "No- I mean yes! Yes yes, totally! We've even made a new spell to make sure everything goes to plan, haha!" Her sisters looked at her in a way that signaled she should stop talking before she says something that'd get them in trouble. The figure leaned back slightly in their chair. "For your sake, I hope so." Nikki squealed a bit, and Ginny cleared her throat. "Any particular orders for us, sir?" A minute went by of agonizing silence, before the figure responded. "Get our little interloper under control. And if you harm one hair on the girl's head..." His sentence trailed off in a way that made the three of them understand exactly the severity of their hypothetical punishment. They sat there quietly. Lindsey tugging at her collar uncomfortably. The figure sat back up straight. "You are dismissed." His voice had no anger in it, but they could tell he meant business. The three of them scurried out of his office like mice fleeing from a cat. The figure not reacting in any way. Continuing to stare out at the moon...


	11. Abracatastrophy

With Daisy now in the safety of E. Gadd's lab, Luigi and co's hotel-wide search was close to its end. The team took this time to look into the ghosts haunting the next floor. As it turns out, these ghosts had evaded E. Gadd before in the past. E. Gadd played an old tape on the lab's monitor. It was black and white, and was likely made back in the roarin' twenties. The footage showcased three magician sisters at a circus, back when they were alive. "I encountered these three back in my earliest days of ghost hunting. Nikki, Lindsey, and Ginny. They were quite the famous bunch back in the old days. Quite ironic that their fame would ultimately lead to their demise." Vinny raised an eyebrow. "If I'm not mistaken, they died in a magic trick gone wrong, correct? That's about as much as I know about them." E. Gadd turned in his chair. "That's... partially true. The story goes that they were the star attraction of their circus. It brought their superiors plenty of business. But they were the ambitious lot, and after seeing how successful they were, they soon wanted to go out on their own. And as you can imagine, their boss wasn't too happy about it..."

The screen then showed the triplets getting into a crate as it was hoisted up by a crane, soon to be lowered into the water, when all of the sudden it exploded! Daisy grimaced. "Yeesh. He took it about as poorly as he possibly could have." E. Gadd nodded. "Of course, he was brought to court, but they didn't have enough evidence to place any charges. Ghosts are usually born out of a strong will to do something they didn't have the chance to in life, so in my younger days, I went to that circus in the hopes of finding them. And I was right! But I underestimated their magic, and as a result, they got away. If I could give you any advice, they're at their strongest when they're together. Taking them down one at a time would be your best strategy." Vinny smirked. "Frankly, I'm amazed they get along so well. If I had any siblings, I imagine we'd constantly be at one another's throats. But no use dwelling on hypotheticals..." She got out of her chair. "You ready, Luigi?" Luigi gave a thumbs up. Despite their tragic backstory, he had to admit that of all the ghosts he's met thus far, they seemed the least scary to him.

**Back on the elevator...**

Getting back to work, Luigi and his ethereal comrade were on their way up to floor 10. There wasn't that much of the hotel left that they hadn't explored yet. Not counting the basement, there were 15 floors in total. So chances are, they weren't very far from their goal. With all the crazy stuff that's been going on tonight, Vinny's mind wandered onto the subject of the biggest enigma in the hotel: Nivyn. Now that she thought about it, the circumstances in which the two of them met was quite suspicious. And if her emotional ruin was enough to quarantine an entire floor, why did her father choose to just ignore her? And most confusingly of all, why was she so insistent that they were sisters? In every family photo they had, it's clear to see that she's an only child. And yet... all these coincidences seem quite peculiar.

Her train of thought was cut short, however, as the doors to floor 10 opened to reveal the three magicians waiting right outside the door for them. They sat gathered around a floating table. Lindsey shuffling three red solo cups on it. "Alright, ladies. Which cup is it under?" Her sisters sat in contemplation for a moment. "Hmmm... this one?" Nikki asked, pointing to the one on the right. Lindsey lifted it up, revealing it to be empty. "Nope." Ginny twirled the end of her hair. "I wanna say... the one on the left." Lindsey revealed that cup was also empty. "Wrong again." She then floated down to Vinny and Luigi, lifting up Luigi's hat to reveal a bomb under it! "Tada!" And within seconds, it promptly exploded in Luigi's face! Nikki clapped, while Ginny giggled at the plumber's misfortune. Thankfully, the explosion didn't have too much kick to it. But before either of the two could retaliate, Nikki struck them with a blast of magic. Paralyzing them in their tracks.

The other two sisters joined her. "This guy is the one giving the boss so much trouble? I thought he'd be like... I dunno, Prince Peasley, or something." Ginny commented. Nikki put her hands on her hips. "You've gotta move on from the dating phase, Gin. Don't you remember what happened last time?" Ginny cringed at the memory.

**Dating fail #224:**

Ginny knocked on the door of her new boyfriend's house. Well... by 'new boyfriend', she meant someone she met on a shopping website, to buy a deck of cards from them. But come on! If he set that price so low, it just HAD to mean he liked her, right? When the door opened, she saw the face of Kamek. Perfectly demonstrating her lack of self-awareness, she used her magic wand to summon a bouquet of flowers. "Hiya, cutie~ I came here to pick you up for our date! So do you like Italian, or are you more of a seafood kinda gu-" aaand then he shut the door on her, with a blank expression. She paused, still unable to take the hint. "Okay! You go get dressed for the occasion. I already reserved us some seats at Maggiano's...!" She was then left waiting out there for the rest of the night.

**End of flashback:**

"Oh, I'm sure he just got cold feet, or something..." Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Let's just focus on the matter at hand. Ready your wands." They then pointed their wands at them. Vinny and Luigi desperately trying to move, but to no avail. "Alaka...ZAM!" The three of them chanted in unison, as the room was smothered in magical energy. A moment passed, an our two heroes blacked out for a second. Vinny rose from the floor, rubbing her head. "Ugh, whatever you clowns did, I'm certain you'll regret... it...?" She looked at her hand to see a white glove on it. "What the...?" She then looked to the side to see... herself!? It was quite unnerving to see her own spirit looking back at her, with just as much confusion as she had. "Hey, that pudgy man sounds a lot like Vinny." Ginny observed, as her sisters stared horrified at their magical mishap. "I don't understand. It was supposed to put them to sleep, not this!" E. Gadd then spoke up. "From what I've heard from Starlow, this isn't Luigi's first rodeo with sleep magic." Nikki folded her arms. "Argh! You idiots! Your past exposure must've screwed up our spell!"

Luigi looked down at himself, and was mortified that he was not only a ghost, but also wearing a dress. Vinny's legs wobbled as she stood, she was clearly out of her element, piloting someone else's body. "Well, too bad for you. Change us back, or you're going into containment with Mordread!" Lindsey then grew an evil grin on her face. "Yes, yes, that would be ideal. But I think it'd be better if we took that vacuum thing first. Think of it as a down payment." Her sisters chuckled at the idea, as they pointed their wands in three separate directions. "Watch closely, lady and gent. It's time for a fairly odd performance that'll make Disney's Fantasia look like a parlor trick." Lindsey snickered. The walls then collapsed around them, the classy looking stage room giving way to a spherical platform floating in a purple void. Long red curtains flowing in the distance. "I've just lost sight of you on the radar, youngsters! Look lively out there!" The three magicians then appeared in a straight line, and took a bow.

"Don't get excited yet, folks. They don't call this the ultimate show for nothing." Ginny then pulled out a plushy of herself out of her hat. "And don't forget to stop by the gift shop! We have tons of merch calling your name." Lindsey just stared at her, while Nikki buried her face in her palm. "What? Gotta boost our market-share somehow." Vinny held the poltergust with uncertainty. Her awareness of how to operate the thing was minimal. "Erm... Any advice, Professor?" She asked. "Of course! The poltergust is made of a man made alloy capable of interacting with astral phenomena-" She interrupted him, "HELPFUL advice!?" As they were distracted by their conversation, Luigi saw the three sisters using their magic to fuse together, and tried to tug on Vinny's shoulder, only to have his hand pass right through her. Ghost logic. A cruel mistress indeed. The three magicians became one. their Trirova Transmorphosis: Zatanna.

**(The music "Giant Girania" from NIGHTS: Journey of Dreams plays)**

Zatanna was a tall magician ghost with fishnet leggings, and whom wore her cape around her waist. Her hair was much longer than the triplets, and was dyed pink at the end. The three magic wands fused into a violet scepter with a pink stone engraved in the top and bottom. Vinny and Luigi gazed in awe at the radiant specter. "Time for the main act." Zatanna declared, gripping her scepter with an award winning smile. She blasted some razor sharp playing cards out of her scepter at her opponents. Each slight with pink flames. Vinny swerved out of the way, but she ended up tripping over her own feet. And Luigi floated around them, freaked out by the fact that he was off the ground. "Ah. Already seen that trick? Then let's try something more flashy." She then summoned a bunch of mirrors, all in different places. She then struck the one closest to her with a pink laser, causing it to bounce off the mirrors like the world's deadliest game of laser tag!

Seeing Luigi was in the line of fire, Vinny activated the poltergust to try and blow him out of danger. But she accidentally hit suck instead of blow, sending Luigi tumbling towards her and almost sucking him up. "Sorry, Luigi. Heaven's sake, why are none of these buttons labeled!?" Her finger slipped, causing her to push the wrong button again. Shooting out a plunger that hit one of the mirrors dead on. That's when she got an idea. "Ahaha! I have to admit, even I feel bad for you two." Zatanna taunted, as she started forming a giant orb of magic. Vinny sucked the rope on the plunger with the poltergust, and then swung it towards Zatanna. "Time for some smoking mirrors of my own!" The mirror smashed into her, not hurting her that much, but it broke her concentration. Making her drop the orb on herself!

Ginny was sent spiraling out of Zatanna, and Vinny sucked her up. She couldn't help but be impressed with herself. "Wow. I think I'm actually getting the hang of this thing." Zatanna shrunk a bit, as well as her hair length. A third of her power ripped away, without the youngest of her components. "Don't think you've won yet! I think I'll need a volunteer for this next trick..." She grabbed Vinny up, and placed her in a metal box. "Watchful eye, now." She then shuffled it with three more boxes and put them all on the platform Luigi was on. "Hope you guess right~" Luigi stood there in confusion, not knowing which one his friend was in. This could very well be another trick. Zatanna tapped her foot impatiently. "Come on, pick one. It's not that hard to do." Luigi didn't want to run the risk of picking the wrong one, so he just stood there until he was sure which one was right.

Her patience at an end, Zatanna flew down to him. "Can't do anything right, can you? It's this one, dumb dumb!" She declared, opening the left box to reveal Vinny. And it only dawned on her too late that she just solved her own puzzle for him. Seizing the chance, Vinny activated the poltergust. But the suction wasn't enough to split her apart. However, Luigi found one of the stray playing cards from earlier on the floor, and threw it at Zatanna. Nikki, and Lindsey were sent spiraling out of their form. Vinny got a capture stream on Lindsey, and successfully captured her. All that remained was Nikki. The middle sister. "Okay, okay! I surrender! Enough!" The world around them was consumed by a white light, and they were transported back to floor 10. Despite this, Vinny still had her poltergust trained on her. "Change us back." Nikki sighed, and did as she was told. Swapping Vinny and Luigi back into their proper bodies. "That's more like it." Nikki sat down in the stage, with a defeated look on her face. "There's no way the president will ever forgive us for swapping you two, anyway."

Vinny was puzzled. "The president? What does that have to do with-... Wait... Are you saying the one behind this whole scheme is...?" Nikki sighed. "Is Maxill. Yes." Vinny sat down next to her. "If that's true... I'm certain you have nothing to fear, Nikki. I doubt he'd go out of his way just for me. I'm just a nuisance in his eyes." Nikki turned to her. "That couldn't be further from the truth, Vinny. He cares for you and your mother deeply." Vinny but her lip, as a wave of sadness began washing over her. Nikki got back up. "When he first hired us, he hoped our magic would be able to break the curse. And when we couldn't, he just... broke down in front of us. And yet for some reason, he still kept us around." Vinny looked up at her. "What curse?" Nikki then summoned some old looking papers, and handed them to her.

Luigi didn't see what Vinny was reading, but he could tell from the changes in her expression that whatever was written on it held plenty of answers. "...I had... no idea. This _is _his handwriting. But I still don't see why he would do this. Why he would kidnap innocent people." Nikki held her hat in her hands. "I feel it'd be best if you asked him yourself, because I'm afraid I don't know. Now then..." She then floated over to Luigi. "I'd like to be with my sisters. Now that I've blown his secret, he's gonna want my head mounted on his wall." Luigi reluctantly agreed, and sucked her up. Peach then voiced her concerns. "What do those pages say, Vinny?" Vinny stood up, and readjusted her hat. "Many things. I'll tell you in time. For now, I have a request..." she cleared her throat. "I want to go back to floor 2. Something tells me Nivyn knows much more about this than we do. You've done a lot for me already, but I can't do this alone."

Luigi warmly smiled, and nodded. Something that spread to Vinny, upon seeing his response. "Thank you so much. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you, but I'm thankful nonetheless." They hopped back on the elevator, and headed down. The truth was to be found, in the darkness of floor 2. Submerged in the mind of a shadow. A shadow of a former life. Nivyn was there since this all started. And if she was ever gonna see the end of it, she needed to confront her. They did not know what horror awaited them, what nightmarish state the phantom of those halls may be in, but someone had to step forth into the unknown. Or all... was lost.

**(The music "Mephiles' Whisper" from Sonic '06 plays)**

**(For any of you who want to know what those pages said, you're free to check out my prequel story, "Dying To Treat You". I'm sorry if this chapter might've been disappointing to you, writing fight scenes isn't my specialty. But for those of you who enjoyed it, it means the world to me that you like my story. I promise the next chapter will be worthy of the buildup.)**


	12. Light and Shadow

Some people yearn for the truth. Some yearn only for happiness. There are some truths that once learned, those who know them would do anything to forget. But regardless of how fiercely the darkness clings to your soul, will you seek out the strength to stand again and press on? When you look up at the night sky, will you see the looming void of blackness, or the stars contained within it? The most powerful strength in the world, is to hold onto hope in the face of despair. So when the world reaches out its hand, will yours be able to take it?

Vinny and Luigi entered the lobby once again. When coming face to face with the door to floor 2, they could see it was submerged in ectoplasm. Vinny hesitantly plucked a flower out of a nearby vase, and pressed it against the door to see it wilt instantly upon contact. "Yeah... Probably best not to touch that stuff." She then looked to the side to see a vent. One that was miraculously spared the contamination. Taking a breath, she turned back to Luigi. "I'm sorry I have to get you guys tangled up in my family's problems. But I can't leave her like this anymore. I just can't." Luigi put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You're doing the right thing, Vinny. I'm sure your parents would be proud of you." Peach exclaimed. Vinny was grateful for the support, but also knew that if they started getting mushy now, it'd only mean Nivyn would have to suffer longer. Luigi used his rope plunger to yank down the vent's cover, and the two of them crawled in. It was dustier than Tostarena Ruins in here, but atleast it was safe. The duo ended up taking the vents into room E-001. The floor around the vent hadn't yet been consumed by the black mucus, but the rest of the room was. The bed, the walls, most of the floor, and even bits of the ceiling.

Most of the drawings they found the first time in here had been drowned in the ectoplasm. But thankfully, one was spared. The one of Vinny and her family. Carefully retrieving it from the slowly spreading ooze, she folded it up into her pocket for later. "How are you guys gonna get through this place, if you can barely touch anything in it?" Daisy asked. "Well, we're gonna have to get creative, I guess." The door of this room was thankfully left open. It was only a question of traversing the sea of slime. "I guess I'll have to carry you, Luigi... Let's hope all this exercise tonight has prepared me for this." Luigi knew she didn't mean to imply he was heavy. Lifting someone almost the same size as you would be difficult for anyone. So Luigi reluctantly held up his arms, and Vinny pulled him up. She moved slowly, as to avoid dropping him. It was a very awkward sight to behold. But the decaying state of the floor was enough to keep their minds off that.

The ectoplasm churned, and sloshed on every surface. Something straight out of a home renovator's worst nightmares. "Goodness gracious! This is the highest concentration of ectoplasm I've ever seen in a single place!" E. Gadd added. "Do you know what that stuff is, Professor?" Peach asked, slightly horrified by the visuals. E. Gadd adjusted his glasses. "Yes. It's a common misconception that ectoplasm is what ghosts are made of. But in actuality, it's a physical manifestation of a spirit's negativity. Toxic thoughts that a ghost lacks the ability to consciously handle. So instead, they're expelled from the mind through-" Vinny cut him off. "Tears." E. Gadd gasped. "How did you know that?" Vinny and Luigi then found their way into the room they fought Nivyn in before, and sure enough, there she was. Slouched against a corner with her head slumped over. And yet, they could clearly black tear stains trailing down her face. "That's how."

There was a safe spot in the middle of the room. The remains of the dolls that had been smashed earlier that night barely remained. The ectoplasm visibly struggling to consume them. Vinny gladly placed Luigi down on the safe spot, it appeared Nivyn hadn't noticed them yet. But it was still clear she wasn't asleep either. "Nivyn..." Nivyn barely even stirred, upon hearing her name. Vinny slowly and cautiously began walking towards her. "Nivyn, it's me." They could hear Nivyn's ragged breathing. Her only response was in the form of a low mutter. "...What do you want?" As if in response, their amount of available ground slipped away slightly under the dark liquid. "I-I want to help you. I think I'm close to figuring out what went wrong." Nivyn merely growled to herself. "I know it sounds hypocritical, considering I've left you to wallow in all this for so long. But please, I wanna make things right again." Nivyn finally looked up at them, and everyone was taken by surprise to see her eyes were red. They looked like they stung to even keep open. "...Go away." She quietly warned.

Vinny took a moment to regain her composure. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. Asking you to trust me, or anyone for that matter, probably feels like an insult after everything you've had to endure. But all I ask is this one last chance." Nivyn's face contorted into a crooked smile that did nothing to hide her pent up rage. "Go... _away..." _Her voice cracked, as her facial expression trembled with the emotions inside. By now, Vinny had to float in order to give Luigi room to stand. She'd want to think carefully about her next words, but if she didn't say something fast, they would have to face the bone-scorching inferno of Nivyn's wrath. "I'll prove it to you! Anything you want, and I'll do it! I swear!" That seemed to calm Nivyn down a bit. The ectoplasm stopped spreading just in the nick of time. But it wasn't over just yet. All it took was one wrong word, and that dam would burst.

"...Anything... you say?" Nivyn asked. Vinny's answer very likely being the deciding factor in if they leave that room at all. "Yes... Even if I don't fully know what those things are, it's clear that you're a good person who's been through some horrible events. I can be here for you, but only if you let me." Nivyn paused. She was thinking. Vinny didn't know if that was good or bad. Nivyn took a few deep breaths. "A game." Vinny didn't wanna accidentally provoke her, but she needed more specifics to go on. "A game?" Nivyn stood up, her fury dissipating to simple irritation. "The three of us will play a game. Win or lose, I don't care. But if I feel the _slightest _hint of hesitation on your part. I. Will. DESTROY you." Her anger began bubbling up again, as she approached Vinny, and looked her dead in the eyes. "Understand?" Vinny gulped, and nodded her head. "Yes... What kind of game do you wanna play...?" Nivyn did not respond. Her expression shifting to that of indifference as suddenly the walls exploded with torrents of ectoplasm! Geysers of black erupting all around them like a raging waterfall, or an angry volcano. Despite their best efforts to avoid the incoming flood, it wasn't long before the entire room was filled. The last thing they saw before they were submerged was Nivyn's salt-irritated eyes...

And yet... strangely, they were alive. Well, Luigi was, since Vinny is a ghost, but you get what I'm saying. Despite being sunken in this void, they were still fine. And then... the shadows dispelled, and they found themselves in some strange city with white buildings, and a cloud coated sky. "What in the world is going on!?" Peach asked, in shock. E. Gadd frantically clicked on his keyboard. "I don't know, somehow Nivyn has projected her own thoughts onto the environment. It's just like with King Boo's Illusion. She's created a world that doesn't actually exist." Vinny gasped. She recognized this place! Looking down at her hand, she saw it was covered in a red latex with black polka dots. She found she was in a jumpsuit of the same color scheme, and had a domino mask that also matched this motif. "Oh. My. Gosh! Luigi, are you seeing thi-" she looked to see Luigi was there as well. He was wearing a suit as well. Only his was purely black, his hat included. He had a black domino mask, and black cat ears growing out of his hat. "This is so... wow!" Luigi looked at their new attire, and was equally surprised.

"What's with the costume change?" Daisy pondered, scratching her head. Vinny reached around her waist, and found exactly what she expected: a yo-yo that stuck with her established colors. "Guys. I don't know how she did it, but we're somehow in the world of Miraculous Ladybug!" Everyone went silent. Having no idea what she's talking about. "You don't know? It's a TV show. My favorite TV show, in fact. And if we're here... I think I can guess what Nivyn has in store." She looked up at the sky. "Hmm... judging by the ominous boiling storm clouds above us..." She looked off into the distance to see the clouds looked their scariest above a glass building. "Stormy Weather. You never quite forget your first, I suppose." She walked over to the edge of the building they were on, before turning back to Luigi and taking a bow. "Welcome to Paris, Luigi. Well... not the _real _Paris, but you know. We have a supervillain to defeat. And don't fret, you won't need the poltergust for this one. I'll explain the situation on the way there." Luigi was still quite confused, but he nodded anyway. "Alright. Follow me." She leaped over to the neighboring rooftop, and Luigi frantically followed behind.

**At the tower...**

Vinny and Luigi ran through the empty offices of the building, as they scaled closer and closer to the epicenter of the thunderstorm above. "Stormy Weather has power over... well... the weather. If we want to stop her, We'll need to break her parasol. But that same parasol also serves as her main weapon, so be careful in how you go about it." Luigi wondered by fictional media had to be so complicated. They hopped on the elevator and headed up to the roof. As the elevator brought them towards the top, the two of them used these last few minutes to brace themselves. "Alright, ace. Get ready." Vinny stated. Ding! When the elevator opened, they saw a giant shard of ice heading straight for them! They barreled out of the way, avoiding any harm, but leaving the elevator completely obliterated in the process. "You're very poorly dressed for the rain, sis." Vinny and Luigi gazed up. The entire tower was surrounded by the walls of a black tornado. And up in the sky, in the center of it was none other than Stormy Weather herself. Except it was clear that the one piloting her was Nivyn.

Stormy Weather adhered to a strict color scheme of milky whites, and pure blacks. Her paper white skin, black dress, and opera-length gloves living by that unspoken rule. Gripped tight in her hand was her parasol. "I have to say, this is much more pleasant than what I thought you had in mind. I'll gladly demonstrate my conviction right here, and now." Vinny boldly proclaimed, yo-yo in hand. Stormy Weather frowned grimly. "Perhaps the gravity of the situation hasn't yet been made apparent. I predict multi-scattered lightning strikes, and the both of you buffoons on the pavement begging for mercy!" She pointed her parasol towards the sky, as it got struck by lightning. Leading to her weapon sparking with deadly bolts of electricity.

**(The song "Light and Shadow" from League of Legends plays. Once this story is over, you NEED to hear it. It'll help carry over the weight of this scene better than anything else.)**

"If this is what you wanted, I'll do what I can to deliver." Stormy Weather closed her eyes dismissively. "It's too late for apologies. Our fighting will do the talking now." She shot the building with lightning, causing chunks of it to be blown into the sky. Vinny and Luigi managed to avoid the attack, hitching a ride on the debris to get closer to Stormy Weather. The open starry sky visible up above the black tendrils of the tornado. Vinny used her yo-yo to rope herself higher up the swirling scraps of concrete. Stormy Weather cast her open palm out at her, as fissures of lava scaled up the mighty gales of wind towards her and Luigi. Luigi jumped for his life, as the streams of fiery death inches closer and closer to him. Vinny skillfully pounced higher away from Nivyn's blistering vengeance. Eventually, Vinny and Luigi veered towards one another, and just before they were about to collide, the somersaulted backwards, causing the lava to crash into itself. From there, they both made a triumphant vault toward Stormy Weather, who merely scowled. "Fall." She commanded, in a flat whisper, as she cast her arms to the side to bring forth a gust of wind to blow her opponents sky high.

As they tore through the heavens, Vinny grabbed Luigi's arm and used her yo-yo to latch onto a stop sign sticking out of a chunk of the street below. They held on for dear life, mere feet away from the edge of the tornado. Seeing this, Stormy Weather held her parasol to her chest, creating a giant golem made of hail! But Vinny literally and figuratively held on. This wasn't the end. Not yet. She threw Luigi down, aiming for any bit of land that hadn't been destroyed yet. Stormy Weather summoned forth a ferocious cyclone to propel her monster up towards Vinny. But Vinny hoisted herself towards the golem, and vaulted over it. Sliding down its back like a policeman sliding across the hood of their car. As Luigi landed safely, he tried to take advantage of Stormy Weather's gaze being focused on Vinny, and bolted off the platform to tackle her. But Stormy Weather heard him coming, and sculpted a giant wall of snow to block him. Luigi's determination turned to fear as he was on a one way trip into a solid sheet of snow. And just before he hit it, he thought about how much of a cataclysm this was...

He stopped himself from with his hands, and when his hand touched the snow, it turned black, and started falling apart. What was happening!? Did he do that!? He kicked off the snow as it gave away, with Vinny diving down towards her target from above. She threw out her yo-yo to the side. "Lucky charm!" And in a flash of light, it turned into a sword. Vinny took a moment to look at it. "Cool." Stormy Weather opened up her parasol to generate a line of storm clouds to obscure her vision. Unable to see anything, Vinny missed her, but was able to grab onto the edge of a desk swirling in the wind current's iron grip. Finding her footing on it, she hopped over to Luigi and awaited Stormy Weather's next attack. She was now looking more frustrated by their resilience. "You will never understand how this feels. This raging storm in my heart." She gloomily stayed, as she charged up for another electric charge. At that moment, Vinny saw a water tower floating in the wreckage. And that's when she figured out how to use her lucky charm.

"Luigi, you get the parasol. I'll handle Nivyn." Luigi didn't know what she meant yet, but he trusted her. She winded back her arm. "Aim, don't fail me now..." She chucked her sword across the chasm, and towards the water tower. Hitting it dead on, as the now gaping hole in it unleashed the water inside. Stormy Weather saw what she was up to, but it was too late, she couldn't get out of the way, and when the water soaked her, she got electrocuted by her own lightning! As steam rose from her body, she dropped her parasol and began falling. Vinny diver after her, while Luigi focused on securing the parasol. Vinny was successful, catching Stormy Weather in the air and safely tackling her onto a shard of land. Luigi also snatched up the parasol, and made his way down to the building again. With everyone back on solid ground, Luigi broke the parasol in two, prompting a small black butterfly to fly out of it. Vinny smirked, and stood up. "No more evil doing for you, little akuma." She flung her yo-yo at it, catching the butterfly inside. After swinging it around a bit, she released the butterfly again. But now, it was pure white.

Stormy Weather stirred from her dazed state, as the tornado died down, and the sky began clearing up. "I can't believe... I lost." Vinny walked over to her. "But you had fun, didn't you? Even though I was in danger the whole time, I did." She reached out her hand to her. Stormy Weather gazed at it suspiciously, as she reverted to her true form of Nivyn. "Yeah, I... guess so. But... why? Why do you suddenly care about me?" Luigi watched the exchange. "I've always had a guilty conscience about you. Even though your sadness never really came from me, at first. But some recent events spurred me to look deeper, and... now that we've fought, I know without a shadow of a doubt who you are." She paused, and smiled. "You're me. My other half." Everyone watching looked on in amazement, Daisy in particular shouting 'What!?'. Nivyn sighed. "You always did things better than me. When we were split, daddy and mommy had no interest in me. They only wanted you. Living in that shadow, knowing you got ditched for someone else... it hurts. But regardless, you were the only one I had. The only one who even remotely showed interest in me. I wanted to be a part of your family..."

She took her hand, and got up. "But I guess after all I've done, I just don't deserve that. You were a victim too, in all of this. It wasn't fair for me to take out my anger on you." Vinny hugged her, catching her by surprise. "The past is the past, Nivyn. There's still much to do, but if we can just put all this behind us, maybe one day it'll all seem like a mere bad dream. I want us to move on toward a brighter future. Can I count on you to walk towards it with me?" Nivyn was silent for a minute, before hugging her back. "I would like that... very much." The whole world faded in a flash of white light, and when Luigi's vision returned, they found themselves back in floor 2. Only all the ectoplasm was gone. The wallpaper was mended, and the colors on them were back in their prime. The lights were working too, and everything was all around as clean and pristine as when it was first built.

And there stood Vinny, glimmering with a blue light. Nivyn was nowhere to be seen, but Vinny's attire looked slightly different. Her uniform was now black, with traces of blue here and there. And instead of wearing a bellhop hat, she wore a black three-pointed jester hat, with a silver tiara attached to the front. Said tiara had a dark blue jewel in the center.

**(The Dire Dire Docks Remix, by AJ DiSpirito plays)**

Vinny opened her eyes. Said eyes finally had her pupils return to them. She looked calm, refreshed, and overall... happy. "I see what happened, now. In order to make us obedient to the contract, King Boo empowered the aspects of my parents' minds that would make them loyal to him. But me? I had no negative emotions he could twist into that sort of compliance. So when he found me, instead of manipulating what was already there, he tore out the memories and emotions that would've been disloyal to him. Thus, Nivyn was born." She straightened her hair. "But now, we're one person again. And I have you to thank for that, Luigi. You, E. Gadd, and all the others." She approached Luigi, and took his hand. "Remember though, our work isn't done yet. My parents are still likely bound by the contract. And it's likely we'll find your brother along the way." Luigi smiled, and nodded. The both of them headed back to the elevator. The night wasn't over, but it was proving to be a new dawn for the Midnights...

**(So that's my very first crossover of any kind. I mean, technically it wasn't a crossover, because none of the real characters from the show made an appearance, but I have to say that this is the best chapter I've written yet! In my opinion, anyway. Hope you're all having a fantastic new year!)**


	13. Wrapped in Black

**(Here's a fun fact I bet none of you could've forseen: Recall Luigi's nightmare at the beginning of the story? The one with King Boo? Well, that wasn't just a throwaway scene. It was a slightly altered account of Vinny's final moments before being split. The only differences being, instead of hiding in a broom closet, it was room E-001. And rather than being trapped in a painting, her soul was ripped in half. Yeah. I plan that far in advance.)**

In much the same manner that the gentle flapping of a butterfly's wings can grow into something as horrifying and destructive as a hurricane, so too can a kind and innocent child be corrupted into a bitter and pessimistic spirit. But thanks to their efforts tonight, they were able to save Nivyn from that abyss before she got drowned out too far. Vinny just hoped there was still time to bring the rest of her loved ones back from the brink. In the warmth and security of the lab, Luigi and the gang discussed their next move. "Given that Maxill is the one orchestrating these events, it makes sense that Mario is most likely being held in his office." E. Gadd exclaimed. "Yes, that would make sense. His office is up on the 15th floor. But getting in won't be so easy. It can only be opened by a special key card. And said card is always in the possession of my mother..." Vinny stated.

Peach scratched her head. "Isn't there some other way we can get in?" Vinny shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. Every month, the floor is coated top to bottom in a lather that prevents ghosts from traveling through the walls. And the door to his office has a surprisingly high tensile strength, so breaking it down is out of the question." E. Gadd put a hand on his chin. "Hmm. Then that does leave us with only one option. We'll need to _borrow _that key card." He then pulled up a schematic of the building. "Thanks to you youngsters clearing up most of the hotel of ghost activity, we can narrow down our search to the remaining floors. So tell you what, why don't you two check floor 11, and we'll work our way up from there." Luigi nodded in agreement. Sounded like a plan. And though he picked up on the theme that the most powerful ghosts usually emerged at the tail end of his past spirit-hunting endeavors, he would do anything to rescue his big bro. (And this time, it wouldn't involve traversing the entire planet answering trivia questions. Blegh.)

**On the elevator...**

As the friendly jingle of the elevator music once again became audible, our heroes took this as their chance to know what awaited them. "Floor 11 is Egyptian themed. It was made as a funhouse of sorts, but rumor has it that it was haunted even before King Boo's half of the contract took effect. Some guests went in, and uhm... never came back out. Looking back at those incidents now, they feel like a warning for what was to come." Peach rang up on the Joyconnector. "Any idea on who was responsible?" As the elevator stopped at its destination, a slight breeze filled the air. Upon its breath, there was a few grains of sand floating in through the elevator door. "I've overheard the staff mention her once. Born to the world as Prima Chione, she was apparently the little sister of a pharaoh-to-be. But her life came to an early end in the same manner as King Tut himself."

"Which was...?" Daisy innocently asked. Vinny awkwardly looked to the side, clearing her throat. "Let's just say... ahem... _'disgusting family tradition'_, to put it lightly." Everyone paused curiously. "You don't wanna know." The elevator door opened, revealing a hallway lit by wall-mounted torches, and decorated with columns, pots, and pseudo hieroglyphics on the walls. All to give the illusion of ancient Egyptian architecture. Small mounds of sand built up in the corners. "Years later, her burial site ended up getting illegally bulldozed by construction workers to make space for a strip mall. And so Prima, who's disturbed spirit rebranded herself as Anubyss, apparently took refuge in this hotel to take revenge on the modern world." They ventured into the hallway. The people who built this floor did an excellent job in making it look aged. "Anyway, the Egyptians were famous for their innovative traps. So be wary of your surroundings." Vinny advised. At least they knew this beginning hallway was safe. Having traps near the entrance to a floor would just be bad for business. Walking through a door at the end of the hall, Luigi was left awestruck by what he saw. The floor was made up entirely of sand, with a single stone pathway leading up to a mini pyramid. The walls had glow in the dark paint to make it look like the night sky. "Ooh-la-la. That actually looks pretty nice." Peach commented.

Proceeding up the steps of the pyramid, they found the entrance blocked by a sphinx statue. The same one from Mario's adventures with Cappy, "What in the world...?" Vinny muttered in confusion. The sphinx's eyes then started glowing. "To access these sacred grounds, you must first prove yourselves worthy of entry. Answer my riddle correctly, and you may pass." E. Gadd couldn't help but have a question. "How did you even get here anyway? You don't appear to have any functional limbs." The sphinx paused, clearly wanting to avoid answering. "Something, something, Deus Ex Machina. Now then, are you ready?" Luigi shrugged. Probably as ready as they were gonna be. "What is Prima Chione's favorite song?" Everyone tried to uncover the answer for a moment, until Vinny stepped forward. "Mummy's, Rags, and Riches?" The sphinx's eyes glistened. "How did you know that?" Vinny shrugged. "I just guessed." The sphinx then slid out of the way. "Oh well. A right answer is a right answer. In you go." And so the duo descended into the tomb.

**Inside the pyramid...**

This place actually looked bigger on the inside than it does on the outside. It had the overall same feel as the rest of the floor, but it did appear less structurally stable. "Dimly lit. Of course." While creeping through, they saw a suspicious looking rug, given it was randomly there in the center of the room. "Hmm..." Vinny carefully pulled it up to reveal a hidden pressure plate. Looking at the walls, they noticed several arrow dispensers ready to fire if they were foolish enough to step on it. "You know, I can't help but think this Prima girl isn't fond of visitors." Just then, they heard a voice echo through the corridors, as the air was filled with the scent of natron. _"Who daresss?" _A swarm of scarab beetles flew into the room, circling the two of them like angry wasps before converging all together in one spot until they took the shape of something... some_one_. The insects transforming into black bandages, it was clear that Anubyss stood before them. Being a mummy, she was covered head to toe in bandages, only hers were black. She wore a purple Egyptian-style skirt, and wore a pharaoh's headdress. Her face was cloaked in a black mask, with a blank expression carved into it. Appropriate, for someone of the pharaoh's bloodline. In her hands stood a golden scepter reminiscent of the one synonymous with Jafar. Her voice was raspy, and somewhat muffled by her mask.

"So you're Anubyss. I know you hate being disturbed, but we're looking for someone and need to search the floor for them." Though they could not see her expression, they could tell she was disinterested. "Hsss...! That ridiculous contraption the fat one has... You think because my brain was flushed out my nose, that I can't see you for what you are? Filthy tourists... I will enjoy thisssss..." It wasn't so much that Luigi was fat, so much as most of Anubyss's body mass had been drained away when she was mummified. "We're not tourists, Anubyss, if no one's here we'll just-" but Anubyss cut her off. "Hrrragh! Silence, wretch... Having my rest interrupted makes me irritable... and given your intrusion is to blame, I will enjoy this very much..." She then raised her scepter, causing a beam of light to shoot out of it towards the entrance. And when it passed through, a giant stone slab came down and blocked it. "Well, I guess there's no hope for diplomacy now..." Vinny remarked, as she and Luigi took a fighting stance. Anubyss merely exhaled in boredom. "You have not earned the honor to perish at my hands. If you would seek to prove worthy, give chase. If you reach me, I might change my mind." She declared, as she transformed back into a swarm of scarab beetles. Toppling over a stone statue onto the pressure plate before flying down, deeper into the pyramid. The arrow dispensers shaking violently, as the dust gathered on them started coming loose.

**(The music "Tomb Time" from Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy plays)**

Vinny and Luigi ran for their lives as the volley of arrows pelted them from every direction. One arrow missed Luigi's bulbous nose by mere inches. Descending down the stairs, they heard something. Quietly moving downward, they saw a narrow walkway across a massive gorge. With several axes swinging side to side from a pendulum across said pathway. "That looks very... hurty." Daisy observed. Luigi happened to like having his head still attached to his body. But before he even took a step, Vinny put an arm out in front of him. "Let me try something..." Vinny reluctantly reached her hand out to touch one of the swinging blades. Nothing happened. "Hmm. Guess she wasn't anticipating she'd have to account for a fellow ghost with these traps." Vinny floated forward, to try and see if there was some mechanism to shut this thing off. And sure enough, there was a lever. "Sorry Anubyss, but we won't be re-enacting an Edgar Allan Poe story today." So she pulled the lever.

But instead of stopping the axes, it only made them go faster. And because the lever was so rusty, it was jammed in that spot now. "What kind of paranoid ghost puts traps on their traps!?" Luigi grimaced at the thought of going through there. "It looks like you'll have to carry Luigi around it." E. Gadd suggested. Vinny sighed. "Do I have to? My arms are still sore from last time." Luigi gazed pleadingly at her. "No, no, you're right, it's just... give me a minute." Vinny went back over and picked up Luigi, as she carefully glided him over the huge pit, most likely having spikes waiting at the bottom. But Vinny's grip was getting dangerously slippery. And halfway there, Luigi's hands slipped out of her own, and he fell. "Luigi!" She gasped, flying down after him. Luigi fell faster and faster, until... he landed in water? Swimming back up, he saw that there was a pool of water underneath that chasm. Upon seeing this, Vinny was relieved. However, that feeling was short lived for both of them when they spotted something else in the water with him: ghost crocodiles!

Luigi scurried towards the edge of the room, and out of the water. But the thing about crocodiles is that they can outswim any human. But just as one of the three scaly beasts was mid-lunge, a foot came in overhead and stomped the animal into the water. Looking up at his savior, Luigi saw a red haired woman adorn in pink. Her outfit was reminiscent of a pirate. "Sorry, snapjaw. This one's not on the menu." She offered her hand to Luigi, and pulled him out as Vinny came down to her level. "You... you're not a ghost. Who are you?" Vinny asked. The woman smirked. "Who am I? Who am _I? _The name's Captain Syrup." Vinny raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, who?" Syrup paused with a blank expression, as if baffled by their inability to recognize her. "Captain Syrup? Queen of the seven seas? Leader of The Blacksugar Gang?" Still didn't ring any bells. "Come on, you _HAVE _to know me. I'm Wario's rival." Luigi then elaborated. "What do you mean he's never mentioned me even once!? Actually, you know what? It doesn't matter. After I make myself rich, that stomach on legs will have no choice but to remember me."

"I'm not even gonna ask how you managed to infiltrate the hotel undetected. What I will ask is why?" Vinny pondered. Syrup started leading them down a corridor as they chatted. "Well sweetums, I don't need to tell you how expensive the stuff in this hotel is. I thought The Bottomless Coin Sack would set me for life, but it turns out all those coins are only good in the shake dimension. Go figure. But I digress, I came here to stuff my pockets. And Anubyss's fancy shmancy golden scepter will do nicely in my collection. In fact, I know some Tutankoopa guy willing to pay top dollar for it." Vinny then got an idea. "And we need to defeat her in order to escape... Tell you what, we'll let you keep the scepter if you help us take her down." Syrup did like the sound of that. "Hmm... our interests do seem to overlap... Alright! I'm sold. Tomb raiding could be fun with a few extra hands." They then come face to face with a big door, with a mural of Anubis himself painted into it. "I'm detecting a powerful surge of supernatural energy coming from behind that door. Stay vigilant. We don't know what she's capable of." E. Gadd advised. Throwing open the door, Syrup entered the main chamber.

It was very spacious. Several torches placed around an altar of sorts in the center of the room. In the back of the room was a giant bonfire that almost reached the ceiling. Engraved in the walls were distorted looking hieroglyphics, and some skulls were carelessly discarded on the floor. Standing atop the alter, as the torches burned with purple flames was Anubyss. "Hey ugly, hate to interrupt your alone time, but it's time to join the rest of your era." Syrup taunted. Anubyss seemed unbothered by her presence. "You and I are the same, lowly peasant. Forgotten by history and tossed aside. Unlike you however, I do not humor the delusion that material wealth will change that." Syrup got out her sword. "What I do with my life is my business. And yours ended millennia ago. If you ever come back to haunt me, do me a favor and get some perfume. All that natron and tree resin does your smell no favors." Done talking, Anubyss grasped her mask and ripped it off. Revealing a hideous mess underneath. Her face looked like it was rotting away with the bandages, and the the umbral flesh. Her eyes were nothing but black, with two tiny glowing red pupils. Her voice was now monstrous, with a guttural echo to it.** "AS MANKIND ONCE BURIED ME... I WILL BURY YOU."**

**(The music "Golden Queen Boss - Part 2" from Skylanders: Trap Team plays)**

Vinny could barely look at the monster. "Geez. Ever heard of skin lotion, Prima?" Four bandages from Anubyss's back started raising out like spider legs, and aimed for the three of them. Syrup leaped up onto the head of a statue, as Luigi sucked up one of the bandages, causing Anubyss to be pulled closer to him. But deciphering what he was doing, Anubyss used the momentum to lunge at Luigi, her razor sharp purple nails ready to plunge into him. However, frightened by the rapidly approaching mummy, he flinged her overhead straight into the floor. Scuffling to her feet, Anubyss summoned her scepter to her hand to conjure up a giant snake made of bandages. Luigi began running from the behemoth, as it chased him. Anubyss was going to join the fray as well, pinpointing Luigi as the biggest threat, but Vinny divebombed on top of her and attempted to wrestle the scepter out of her hands. Seeing Luigi being terrorized by the venomous monstrosity, Syrup rusher to Luigi's aid.

She jumped onto its back, and started slashing at it. The snake hissed in pain, as Luigi saw the bonfire up ahead. Swerving to the side, the snake was too distracted to avoid the inferno. Syrup kicked off of it as it charged into the flames. **"IRRITATING MAGGOTS..." **Anubyss groaned, as Vinny caved her elbow into her face. But Anubyss used her scepter to flash a ray of light in her eyes, and launch her off of her. She then teleported to the bonfire, watching as her pet howled in agony in the heat. **"RISE FROM THE ASHES, MY FAITHFUL SERVANT. SERVE YOUR MASTER." **Upon her command, the snake unraveled as its bandages was added to her own. The shapeless mass of bandages grew bigger and bigger, until finally it took shape: a scorpion. That breathed purple fire! "What is this girl's deal with desert critters? Well, it doesn't make a difference. No one gets between Captain Syrup, and her treasure." Syrup remarked, as the three of them scattered in an attempt to locate a weakness in the scorpion. This time, Anubyss, who had merged with her creation, chose to fix its gaze on Syrup.

**(The music "Yami Marik/ Yami Bakura Theme" from Yugioh: Duel Links plays)**

**"NOT EVEN ASHES SHALL REMAIN OF YOU, THIEF. FACE YOUR END WITH DIGNITY!" **She blasted her with repeated surges of fire, and tried to snap her in two with her claws. Seeing Syrup was in trouble, Vinny and Luigi tried desperately to think of a plan. Syrup through a torch at it in an attempt to once again set the beast aflame, but the scorpion casually swatted it away. She probably wasn't gonna fall for the same trick a second time. But fortunately, that throw did light a spark in Luigi's brain. And so he quickly explained his plan to Vinny. "Um, not to sound ungrateful, but if you'd jump in any time now I'd really appreciate it." Syrup called, as the scorpion had her cornered. Going with Luigi's idea, Vinny hurled Luigi towards the monster, and as he landed on its back, he let out Gooigi, whom instantly slipped through the cracks in its bandages. **"WHAT IS THIS!?" **Anubyss shouted, as every part of her scorpion body was leaking with green ooze. Making it almost impossible to move her limbs. Syrup sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from her head. "Wow. Not bad, kid. Not bad."

But before Luigi could celebrate, Anubyss had one last trick up her sleeve as her stinger winded back. **"IF I'M GOING DOWN... I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!" **The stinger lunges down at him fast, but Syrup tackled Luigi out of harm's way. Leaving the scorpion to impale itself! The super-sized animal exploded into flames, the scepter falling out of it. And then, the flames were sucked into the scepter. It was over. Syrup walked over and picked it up, looking back at Luigi. "That'll be twice that I've saved your life now. But it's all good. I got what I came for. How ironic that she'd meet the same fate as Lucien." Peach then spoke up. "Lucien? You mean the cursed racket? How is that ironic?" Syrup twirled the scepter in her hand. "Didn't you know? Lucien was once the pharaoh's high priest. But when he began looking into the dark arts, the exposure drove him insane. The story goes he hit a zone shot so hard that it broke his opponent's rib cage. So as punishment, the pharaoh sealed him away in said racket."

Peach couldn't help but be impressed with Sugar's catalog on this stuff. "Ah. I get it now. And the people of Bask uncovered it when ancient Egypt was no longer around. Unaware of its power." Syrup then started walking towards the door. "Yep. Now why don't we get on out of this place? You wouldn't _believe _all the places I have sand where there shouldn't be." So they all headed back up. Syrup used the scepter to open the entrance back up. And with that, they all headed to the elevator. "So what are you gonna do now, Ms. Syrup?" E. Gadd asked. "Welp, I've say I got what I wanted from this place. Probably gonna head on back to the ship for the night and plan my next move. I hear big boy Bowser has some goodies that could use a new home." Though she didn't appreciate Syrup robbing the hotel, Vinny did value her help tonight. "Well, good luck on your future endeavors, I suppose." She said, curtsying. "Pfft. I don't need luck. But thanks for the gesture anyway. Oh! And if you see any of those blokes from Diamond City, let them know I plan to remind them who I am soon. Tata~"

And so, she went on the elevator and left. Vinny and Luigi then hopped on, hoping to continue their search. And hopefully it wouldn't involve Vinny putting even more unnecessary strain on her arms...

**(Funny story, I myself completely forgot Captain Syrup existed mid-way through writing this. Good thing I remembered when I did, huh? Anyway, Anubyss's appearance was largely based off of Pharaoh Scamses from What's New Scooby-Doo. I mean, just look at the dude's face! That is messed up for a kid's show! But anyway, I hope you enjoyed it)**


	14. Rocket Man

**Captain's log, #1969**

**Day? Night? I've long since lost my sense of time. At this point, I can't even remember the faces of my crew. But I suppose, it's not really like it matters anymore... I can't help but wonder if the people of earth have forgotten about us? Or... perhaps it's more accurate to say me, now? Whatever the case, it's a rather depressing thought. That the people on earth, young and old, have no idea we're stuck up here. Or even that we exist. I just... Thinking about it will get me nowhere. I'll have to sign off for now...**

**Sherman Sputnik, Hubble 18**

Stepping off the elevator, Luigi was somewhat relieved to see that they would not be traversing a floor based around the past, but the future. This floor had a very futuristic vibe to it. Everything had a metallic shine to it, the walls decorated with pixel art, and the floors designed to resemble conveyor belts.

**(The music "The Gallery ~Living Dead Party~" from Rayman Legends plays)**

"So what's the deal with this floor, Vinny?" Peach asked. The duo walked through the dimly lit corridors, the poor visibility giving the place a creepy look to it. "In this hotel, we used to get visitors from every corner of this planet. And as that fame grew, we eventually started getting visitors from beyond the stars themselves. So this floor was designed to make them feel more at home... but in the time since then, you can see its fallen into a state of disrepair." This was giving Luigi some bad vibes. He distinctly remembers how in his earlier adventures, lit rooms were sanctuaries, and dark rooms were the other side of the border. "Man, where's Rosalina when you need her?" Daisy joked. But before they could get very far, they heard something. "Psst." They looked to their side to see a ghost woman in an astronaut suit. One with long red hair. She was on the other side of a window into one of the other rooms, seemingly trying to avoid drawing too much attention to herself.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before." Vinny stated. The woman darted her eyes down both ends of the hallway. Scanning the area for some unspoken threat. "Listen carefully, I don't have much time to explain. My name is Nayla Constantine. I was an astronaut on board the Hubble 18. You two need to get out of here before he sees you-" Then without warning, she saw something in the corner of her eye and ducked out of view. Following her gaze, Vinny and Luigi were met with the sight of another astronaut. This one was a man. A skinny man, who barely seemed to fit in his suit. His eyelids drooped downwards like a man who forces himself to stay awake with coffee. And it was clear by looking at him that he hasn't given much care to his appearance. His facial hair was poorly shaved off, with a stray hair or two poking out of his face, and his hair awkwardly sagged over his eyes a bit. Even though the duo didn't know who he was, they slowly started backing away just in case.

The man walked towards them at the same pace. "More visitors. Don't be afraid. In fact, I'm happy to have people here. Haven't seen another soul in... well, it doesn't matter." He dryly mumbled. "Heehee, that's erm... arhm, that's okay, we were just... looking for someone." The astronaut stopped advancing, prompting them to stop reversing. "Looking for someone? Sorry to say, but I doubt you'll find anyone but me here. I had a crew once... but they left, I think. To be quite honest, I don't even know if you're real. In all likelihood, I'm just talking to a hallucination." Luigi wasn't sure if he was dangerous, so he kept his poltergust on standby. The astronaut resumed approaching them, to which they saw he had a lazy eye. "Besides, why bother wasting breath? Everybody leaves at some point. That's just how things go around here." He was now a few feet from them. But before he could get any closer, a door opened and Nayla bolted out. "Get away from her, Corrosive!" The instant she spoke, the astronaut's face morphed into a glowing red skull with black eyeholes, and he let out an unearthly shriek as he charged at her.

**(The "White Jungle/Eggman's Facility Remix" by YouTuber Turret 3471 plays)**

Nayla blasted him with a taser gun, temporarily immobilizing him. "Get somewhere safe! I'll catch up with you later!" Luigi didn't hesitate. Running for the hills right then and there, with Vinny not far behind. As they heard the monster's unearthly roars, they looked for somewhere to hide. "Why are we running? We can take him!" But then E. Gadd chimed in. "Actually, you can't. My calculations say that his suit would protect him from the poltergust's effects. It IS made to protect astronauts, after all." They didn't dare look back, but they could hear the Red Skull cosplayer catching up with them. Upon turning a corner, they saw another ghost. But this one wore much more casual clothes. He had short hair, and glasses, and seemed the same age as Vinny. In his hands was a GameCube controller. "Best get down, you two." He said, with a blank expression. Vinny and Luigi did exactly that, and just as the monster leaped out at them, the ghost blasted a jolt of electricity at it. Shattering it into pixels. "Back to respawn with you, Sherman."

Getting back up, Vinny gasped. "Enahs!?" The ghost, whom Luigi could assume was named Enahs, approached them. "Been a while since I've seen you." Peach then rang up on the Joyconnector. "You know this guy, Vinny?" Vinny smiled. "Yeah, he's cool. We were friends back before the hotel went to heck." Enahs silently observed, in case he needed to speak in the conversation. It was clear he had emotions, it's just that he wasn't that good at physically expressing them. "Well, mister erm... 'Enahs', do you have any idea what that _thing _was?" E. Gadd inquired. Enahs tucked his controller into his pocket. "Yeah. Its a good thing you showed up when you did. That guy's making a real mess of things. Come on, I'll show you." So they followed him to his room. Said room had game cases stacked on the shelves, a poster here and there, and a few LEGO creations on display, which he had a policy against touching without permission. Sitting down in one of those fun little spinny chairs, he explained the situation.

"That guy was Sherman Sputnik. Main antagonist of the propaganda game, Red Scare. See, Red Scare was made during the Cold War. And so it capitalized on the fears present in the space race. Sherman's lore depicts him as a Soviet astronaut. But on his voyage, the ship was contaminated by a space parasite. It infected him, and made him into what you saw there. The mutated monster, Corrosive. And so he wanders the space shuttle he once commanded, unaware that he was carrying the virus." Vinny sat on a beanbag chair. "That's neat. But I'm guessing he's not done for yet?" Enahs shook his head. "Sadly, no. I knew old-school games were hard, but he was making my playthrough a complete nightmare. And me being the completionist I am, I tried using my ghost powers to remove him from the game so I could beat it. But you saw what happened as a result. Now that he knows you're here, he's gonna come looking for you the instant he respawns."

E. Gadd hopped in his chair. "Oh! A ghost made of code? This gets me giddy to do some research!" Vinny ignored the professor. "So do you have a plan to fix this whole mess?" Enahs pulled out the cartridge for Red Scare. Cheesy retro cover art included. "Yes. I'll start playing the game, and you two lure him here. If I've thought this all out, he should get sucked in. From there, you should dive in and distract him long enough for the game to box him in." Vinny made sure to listen to what he said. She remembered how much he hated having to repeat himself. Vinny got up and did some quick aerobics. "Sounds like we've got ourselves a strategy guide. If Sputnik wants to play, let's play." Luigi sighed. Wishing they wouldn't have to seek out the ghost for once.

**A few minutes later...**

Once again, they journeyed out into the spooky atmosphere of the halls. While they waded through the corridors, Vinny felt her inner gamer coming to the surface. "You know, those old 8 but games seemed to have a thing with space. Space invaders, Galaga, Sinistar, I suppose it was the sandbox game of its age." Before long, they felt a pair of eyes sizing them down, as well as growling coming from just behind them. The two slowly turned to see Corrosive. "What? It's true, isn't it?" Vinny remarked, as Luigi quickly sent out Gooigi. The slime clone hopping onto Corrosive's helmet, and temporarily blinding it. In a mad dash back to Enahs' room, Luigi toppled over trash cans and plants as he passed them, hoping they'd slow down their pursuer. But looking back, he could only watch in disbelief as Corrosive plowed straight through all the obstacles in its path. This was Battletoads level of unfair here! Throwing the door open, Vinny and Luigi hugged the walls of the room as Enahs played.

Corrosive came bursting into the room, but when he noticed where he was, it was too late. The screen sucked him up in a flash of light. Enahs kept his composure, completely unfazed by what just went down. "Hope you're not rusty after all these years, Vinny." He joked. Vinny chuckled. "I want every news reporter the world over to see this. It's about time I shut 'em up." She cracked her knuckles, and jumped in. Luigi stayed out. Deciding it was probably best to leave this to the profession. Especially since he didn't want to waste any of her lives. Vinny found herself in the cockpit of her own little spaceship, in a sleek astronaut suit. She couldn't help but be impressed by her surroundings. "Okay, _this _is pretty sweet." And then Enahs appeared on the screen. "This really takes me back. Still think you have what it takes to keep up?" Vinny remembered she should probably address him by his gaming alias, since they're playing together. "Enoch, I've been fighting dragons, pirates, and weather controlling super villains all night. I think I can handle my favorite hobby."

**(The music "Chemical Plant, Act 2 from Sonic Mania plays)**

Enahs smirked. "Noted. Just don't get frustrated if I'm sitting on a mountain of points after this." Vinny took the controls. "In your dreams. I'm here to win!" So she flew through space, eventually coming across another spaceship. One covered in some sort of gross red tendrils. And inside the cockpit was Corrosive. "Target acquired. Light him up!" She pushed down on the fire button, blasting the ship with a hail of gunfire. But a tumorous looking red tentacle erupted from the ship and blocked the attack, before swerving towards her in retaliation. Fortunately, Vinny steered around the slimy squid arm. "Has the giant enemy crab taught you nothing, Vinny?" At that moment, she saw another ship join the fray. The masked pilot inside undoubtably being Enoch. "Attack the weakpoint." Taking in his words, Vinny pinpointed the thrusters as the place to focus her attacks.

"Wanna do the whole _'white knight riding in to save the day' _shtick? Well, I'll be the knight. I'll kite him, you toast his thrusters." She said, before flying in to distract Corrosive. Enahs shrugged. "Fine by me." Vinny soared her ship through the swarm of laser blasts originating from their opponent, and steering his attention away from her player 2. Enoch cracked a smile, as he started rinsing Corrosive's healthbar. The AI in games always seem to prioritize fighting over survival, so the disgruntled alien parasite didn't even notice. But then, Corrosive blasted out a huge front-mounted laserbeam. Vinny tried to avoid it, but the attack blew off her left wing. "Drat, this game has wing damage!?" With Vinny losing altitude, Corrosive then fixed its gaze on Enoch. And he was almost defeated too! "I don't think all the facial cream in the world is gonna fix that ugly mug up, Sherman." Enoch taunted, as he employed evasive maneuvers. Meanwhile, Vinny was getting dangerously close to the edge of the screen, where the death barrier was.

"This is so cheap! Surely there's something that can even the playing field." She nervously said to herself. But as she drifted downwards, her ship touched a rocket icon. **Missile powerup acquired. **Vinny leaned forward in her chair. "That'll do. Now, come on... just get in range..." As Enoch and Corrosive swarmed one another like angry wasps, Corrosive unknowingly flew in front of Vinny's ship. **Target locked. **"Give my regards to Kruschev, space scum." She fired, and time seemed to slow down as the missile launched towards Corrosive. And in the blink of an eye, the missile connected. Corrosive's spacecraft exploded, in a ball of fire that would embarrass Michael Bay. Vinny mockingly saluted, as the ash flew by her. "And that is how you deliver a one-liner." She added. Enahs laughed. "Good show. I'll give you this one. Think it's time to come on back to central command, hmm?"

Back in Enah's room, Enahs stood up. "That's the last time I play with a sticky controller. Thanks for the help." They shook hands. "No problem. Now, what about Nayla? Should we do something about her?" Enahs raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry... who?" Vinny paused confusedly. "Nayla. She was out in the hallway as well. I thought by her choice of outfit that she might be from Red Scare too." Enahs dusted himself off. "The only space-bound woman in gaming back then was Samus Aran. You know that." Vinny was puzzled. "But if she's not from your game, then who...?" She then looked around, and noticed Luigi was gone. "Uh oh."

**Meanwhile in another room...**

Nayla held Luigi against a wall. Clutching him by the throat, with a look of unchecked anger in her eyes. "You stay away from my little girl, you hear me!? I've given her all the warmth and affection left in my heart, and you have to come and try to steal her away from me! Do you have any idea. _ANY IDEA. _Just how little I have left!?" She chucked him into a bed, crashing him through it, as she panted like a wild animal. She took a moment to regain her composure. "At this point, I don't even care that I've lost my husband to his job. But no one's gonna rip me away from my own daughter. It _will not _stand!" But then, they heard the door open. "That's enough, mother!" Vinny walked in. Nayla looking panicked, as her eyes darted from side to side. "Vinny, sweetheart, you're supposed to be in bed." Vinny approached her with sincerity in her eyes. "Please listen, I know you mean well. I found out what happened. Just hear me out, is all I ask."

Nayla then shifted into her true form: Elline. It was then she noticed Vinny's hat. "Vinny... what is that you're wearing?" Her voice trembled, a bunch of painful memories were flooding back. "Our family has been broken for years now. And Luigi is the one who helped me realize that. If none of this ever happened, I'd probably still be an unquestioning member of the staff, obediently chasing the approval of my peers. So can you give us permission to do this? If you don't remember, I have the diary pages." She said, pulling out the pages that helped her see the truth. But Elline merely sighed. "Even if I don't remember something important, that's not what matters. What matters is you. Me. I can't be alone after all this..." Vinny furrowed her brow, and looked up at her. "We'll still be a family. We always will. That's never gonna change."

Elline's face was that of fear. The look of someone who was afraid of the possible drawbacks of change. "Your father has become so unpredictable, Vinny. I don't even know if there's a man inside him anymore. If you keep disobeying him like this, I don't know what he's gonna do..." Vinny looked at her with a puppy eyed stare. Elline bit her lip. "Okay... there has to be a compromise in this..." She couldn't make eye contact with her. "Alright. How about this: There are two ghosts you have yet to face, excluding Maxill. One of them is Phantasmagloria, the other is me. If you can prove yourself against both of us, I'll let you confront your father." Vinny held her hand. "Very well. Deal. I promise you won't regret this." Elline looked dejectedly into her daughter's eyes. "I hope so." And like that, she was gone.

Vinny went over and helped Luigi. Thankfully, he was unharmed. The poltergust's incredibly durable metal protecting him from the brunt of her attack. "Come on Luigi. Why don't we head down to the lab for a bit. Get you some more of Peach's cake." Luigi agreed, anywhere was better than here right now. And so they went back down. Only 3 floors remained. And at the top was the haunted haunter, looming over the hotel...

**(I was actually very fond of history in school. So any of these chapters that includes bits from real world history, I try to make as accurate as possible. Also, I apologize that it took so long to get this chapter out. Real life issues crept up that slowed my progress. But know this: Blueshade Seraphim ALWAYS finishes her stories. And we're almost at the finale anyway, so it won't be long until then. Thanks for sticking with me.)**


	15. Slave to the rhythm

**(I'd like to give a special shoutout to Agent OmegaX, for being such a huge supporter of this story. Praise is often my biggest motivator for getting through longer stories like this, so I appreciate the kind words. As for what my plans are after this story's done? I'll probably get back to finishing Mariana. But if necessary, I'll take a short break inbetween. Good things are worth waiting for.)**

With all the heartache that's been going on through the night for the Midnights, the gang was quite thankful that this next floor would help them decompress, and get some good vibes flowing in. Floor 13: the dance hall. Haunted by the groovy gal who digs disco, Phantasmagloria. As everyone chatted, E. Gadd found some of her music videos by means of The Wayback Machine, (it's an actual thing, look it up), and played them on the monitor. And from them, they saw this dame had quite the smile, even if it wasn't real. "From what I could gather on your next opponent, Gloria Te'ka was once a DJ. One deeply in love with a fellow musician. But mere days before they would get married, he ended up being drafted into the Vietnam war. Sadly, he never made it back home." E. Gadd explained. Vinny nodded. "Correct. From what I've seen of her, she has a facade of cheer, but I could always tell that her commitment to her music was some form of denial. In all likelihood, she probably never got over that loss."

Vinny then had the professor hack into one of the cameras in the dance hall. Namely, the dance floor. And unsurprisingly, they couldn't see any ghosts in view, because they can't show up on film. Even so, they saw the turntable was currently being used. "A note of warning for you all: Phantasmagloria has a special power that makes her very dangerous. I've seen no proof of it, but rumor has it she has the ability to rewind time by a few minutes." Daisy put a hand on her chin. "Rewinding time? Wow. That actually sounds like a fun idea for an RPG." E. Gadd then smiled in realization. "Ah! Don't you youngsters worry. It just so happens I have exactly the bit of hardware for the job. Now lemme see here..." He then leaped off his chair, and started digging through and old suitcase of his that looked ominously similar to Stuffwell. "Nope... Nope..." He then pulled out a chaos emerald, and gazed at it confusedly. "How did this get in there?" A second later, he found what he was looking for. "There we go, just what I need..."

He then turned around, and gave Vinny and Luigi two metallic wristbands. "These were made with the same technology as my time machine. Unfortunately, they cannot actually affect the flow of time, but they _can _detect anomalies in the space-time continuum." The room went silent. "Just... if it glows, that means she's gone back in time. And therefore, you should do something other than what she expects." Sounded simple enough, explained that way. "Oh, and don't worry about creating any time paradoxes. I've run the numbers, and there's a 95% chance nothing bad will come of this." Peach raised an eyebrow. "And the other 5%...?" E. Gadd dawned a nonchalant expression. "Then the universe will collapse on itself. But atleast we'd take her down with us." Luigi hesitantly nodded, wondering if the professor quite understood the gravity of that possibility, but it was the best shot they had. So he and Vinny ventured out onto the elevator.

**(The song "pursuing my true self" from Persona 4 plays, as they exit the elevator and enter floor 13.)**

The walls were strut with neon lights, and the entire hallway was lit up like a pinball machine. Decorating the area was comfy red furniture, hippie posters, and the occasional standee dressed in Phantasmagloria's clothing line. "You know, this place actually has a diner-style restaurant. It goes by the name '_hot flash'._ Sometimes I grab a bite to eat up here on my off hours, but I try not to stay long. Phantasmagloria likes to invite hordes of ghosts, and have ear-meltingly loud dance parties." Vinny explained. Luigi had to admit, he was a fan of the LED lighting, but the heat given off by said lights made it a bit warmer than he's comfortable with. How Phantasmagloria isn't burning a hole in the hotel's electric bill, he'll never know. But as they proceeded down the hallway, they started hearing music. Very sinister sounding music, with a sort of funky beat to it.

**(The music "Killing Two Birds Anticipation" from A Hat in Time plays)**

As if in response, the lights in the room dimmed until they were off altogether. The walls coated in a sort of glow-in-the-dark paint, applied to the walls to make murals of Phantasmagloria's parties. She herself is depicted at her turntables, as what appeared to be living shadows with red eyes were painted dancing to the rhythm. Did it mean something? "Well, that's creepy." Vinny thought aloud. Whatever it was trying to convey, something told them they'd wanna scope out the threat this time around, before charging in. "Hmm..." That's when they noticed something quite peculiar: a photo booth. And inside was an entire 80's outfit, hung up on a coat hanger. One that was Vinny's size. At a glance, they knew it wasn't there by accident. Vinny's mother _was _a fashion designer, after all.

Vinny stepped in, and inspected it. "I think I see what she had in mind. Luigi, I'll go in the front entrance and blend in with the crowd. Hopefully I'll see what our afro-bearing friend can do without being caught. You go backstage, and find a way onto the lighting rigs. When I give you the signal, you get the jump on her." Luigi swallowed, not wanting to jump down from that high, but he nodded anyway. Vinny then closed the shades and quickly changed into her new outfit. A pink headband, a purple jumpsuit, platform shoes, under normal circumstances she'd be easy to spot in a crowd. But this was an 80's disco party, so she'd fit right in. Her legs wobble slightly as she walked. "Goodness gracious, how does anyone walk in these things?" Peach then spoke up. "It was awfully nice of Elline to leave you that disguise." Vinny nervously chuckled, "Yeah, let's just hope the other guests don't actually have red eyes, or we may be in trouble."

At the end of the hallway was a pair of double doors. The music seemed to be coming from within, with colored smoke slightly fuming through its cracks. E. Gadd watched carefully. "These readings indicate a large quantity of ghosts in there. And until you get backstage, you run the risk of being spotted, sonny. Let's cross our fingers that your uncanny ability to not get noticed will help us out here." At this point, Luigi was used to such comments from the professor. So they creaked closet to the door, and went inside...

**(The music "Killing Two Birds Boss Battle" from A Hat in Time plays)**

As the professor suspected, the dance floor was FULL of ghosts! All of them thankfully distracted by their DJ's hot beats. Phantasmagloria was an orange skinned ghost, with an afro, a red tank top, and a purple blouse. And she thrashed her head along to her own jams. Vinny and Luigi hid behind a table. "You get moving. I'll get up there and dance... as much as I have to." She said, sneaking over to the dance floor before anyone noticed, and awkwardly dancing along to keep a low profile. Luigi moved from cover to cover, hoping no one would see him. One of the ghosts leaned on the next table between him and the backstage entrance. Said ghost was laughing, and blowing bubble gum as she was having a conversation with her friends. Luigi sprinted over to get there as fast as he could, but ended up tripping on a bump in the rug.

Scrambling to his feet, he dashed behind the table. Wow! People were incredibly oblivious when they were talking to someone else. And in this case, it lead to something other than having to wait for them to move when they're blocking your way to something. But he did manage to reach the door, and bolt through it before he alerted anyone. And so he sighed a relief, now being out of the danger zone... or so he thought. Turning around from the door, to start getting into position, he gasped as a bouncer ghost was standing directly in front of him. And it appears he saw him come in, trying to be all sneaky. Luigi tried to think of an excuse as the bouncer's frown deepened.

Meanwhile on the dance floor, Vinny tried her best to move with the crowd, and edge as close as she could to Phantasmagloria without overdoing it. The DJ bopped her head to the beat, and made a 'radical' gesture with her hands. "Y'all having a great time out there?" She asked. The crowd cheered in response. "I'm sorry, did I just hear a whisper? I said, are y'all having a great time out there!?" The dancers all cheered louder in response. "All righty! That's what I like to hear! Now then, let's take this thing to the next level. It's time for the dance off!" Vinny then saw the ghosts clearing the dance floor, and scrambled to do so as well, teetering nervously in her infernal shoes. Impatiently wondering what was taking Luigi so long to get in place. One by one, the ghosts all got up to do their own dance. Each signaled that they were up by a spotlight shining on them. And before she knew it... it was her turn.

She froze like a deer in the headlights, as the spotlight shined on her. "What's the matter, sweet stuff? Cold feet?" Phantasmagloria joked, as the crowd chuckled. But then her expression shifted into realization as the music stopped. Vinny started speaking words as they came to her. "Erm... uh... Come on, homies, we all know I'm... ahem... totally tubular with kriss krossin on the... The jig is up, isn't it?" Phantasmagloria raises up her afro to reveal her eyes, so as to get a good look at her. In the process, she also revealed she was wearing a wig. "Put some ice in my drink, do we have a party crasher here?" Vinny grabbed a lava lamp, just so she'd have _something _to stand in for a weapon. "Let's just say, I came here on accounts of noise pollution." She said, before kicking off one of her oversized shoes at Phantasmagloria. But Phantasmagloria smirked. "Remix!" She spun her records, and rewound time.

"Let's just say I'm here on accounts of-" Vinny saw her bracelet light up. Phantasmagloria knew what she was about to do. "Well, sweetums, if you wanna join the jam, I think you'll need to prove your dancing skills." She then pushed a button on her turntables, causing red shockwaves to emit from her amps. The other ghosts started groaning in pain as the sound somehow began mutating them! Their skin and clothes turned jet black, making them look like a 3D silhouette. And just like the mural, they had red eyes comparable to zombies. They all stood there, surrounding her in a circle. "What are you doing to them!?" Vinny asked, horrified at the transformation, and relieved her outfit seemed to protect her from the sound's effects somehow. "Heeheehee. Like my rave slaves? Courtesy of Hellen Gravely, before you did her in." She leaned over her turntables with a nonchalant smile.

"You know, I thought dear ol' Ellie was joking when she said she wanted me to test you. But considering you're here now..." she giggled to herself. "Well, that means I gotta keep things interesting, y'know?" Vinny was vastly outnumbered, but she wasn't gonna give up. "Then bring it on." Hearing that seemed to send Phantasmagloria in a euphoric frenzy. "Then let's PUMP UP THE JAM!" The music started back up, as the tiles on the dance floor started changing color. Some tiles forming a diagonal line from her turned red, and a minute or two afterwards, some rave slaves charged at her like feral animals from that same direction! Vinny's reflexes literally kicked in, as she booted them across the face with her heels in rhythm with the music. Purposefully hitting them as hard as possible, so as to send said footwear flying off her. She just couldn't fight in these things.

Then some more red lines flashed on the tiles. And at this point, Vinny caught wind of what was going on. "A little memory game, huh? How bout you freakshows tell Balthazar Bratt he wants his style back." Memorizing the lines, she attacked the oncoming hordes as they mirrored the same pattern. Punching one of the rave slaves straight in the face. Personally, she believed that one deserved it, considering he had a mullet. Vinny honestly was kinda getting into this thing. But sensing her comfort, Phantasmagloria started pressing more buttons. "Smokin' moves out there, short stuff. How's about we crank out the pyrotechnics in here?" Vinny tried to rush over and stop her, but with the wall of hypnotized partygoers in her way, she wasn't getting near the DJ at this rate. Fire erupted across the room, making it so bright that it was hard to see, on top of making the room even more sweltering than it already was from the electrics.

"Are you serious!? This should be illegal!" Phantasmagloria turned up the volume. "Sorry kiddo, you gotta learn to live your afterlife, yeah?" Vinny was starting to get frustrated. But as more rave slaves prepared to drop the beatdown, someone jumped down from the lighting rig. Surprisingly, it was Gooigi, and not the man himself. Gooigi gave a thumbs up, indicating he would handle the brainwashed masses. Vinny nodded, and started closing in on Phantasmagloria. "Hey, you never told me you had a dance partner. That's groovy. Now then..." She then got out some records, that happened to be on fire. "How's about you take a _HIT! _Haha! See what I did there?" She threw them at Vinny, prompting her to seek out her inner Neo.

Vinny then caught one mid-air, and chucked it back at her. But Phantasmagloria smirked. "Remix!" She rewound time again, and Vinny was able to see her bracelet flash in the corner of her eye. She caught the record, but before she could act on her opponent's new edge, Phantasmagloria fired another record at her, knocking it out of her hand, also causing the young girl to shake her hand from the heat. "I don't understand how you're not sweating to death in this microwave of a dance studio." She commented, getting some serious Chef Sargossa vibes from this chick. Phantasmagloria struck a sassy pose. "Oh, I just got out more when I was alive. Lemme tell ya, that California heat is no joke." Vinny stifled a laugh. "Doesn't that mean you're a California Gir-" but Phantasmagloria cut her off. "Hey! Only _I _get to make song jokes around here!" She danced in and out of the flames, taking potshots at Vinny along the way.

Vinny sucked and swerved, spotting something up above them waiting for their cue. Taking off her headband, she caught another record and used it to slingshot the lethal disc of music back at her foe. "I've seen this song and dance before, kid. Remix!" Once more rewinding time, Phantasmagloria ran in as Vinny caught her record, and tackled her down. But Vinny seemed oddly untroubled. "Now, Luigi!" Before she could react, Phantasmagloria was crunched to the floor of an Italian plumber. A second later, Gooigi slammed one of the rave slaves into the DJ's unguarded turntable, and smashed it to pieces. The fire stopped, as well as the music. And the dancers returned to their senses. Even if Phantasmagloria rewound time now, there's no way she could stop all three of them at once.

Some of the partygoers were still dizzy and disoriented from the episode, but those that weren't bolted from the room as soon as possible. "Where are you guys going? I thought you guys liked it crazy!" Phantasmagloria desperately pleaded. The bubblegum girl from before folded her arms as she left. "That was like, totally not radical." Another ghost was rubbing the bruises on him. "There comes a point where fun ain't fun no more. That was it." Phantasmagloria sighed. "Why does everyone leave me? It's all the government's fault, and their stupid war against communism." Vinny then had a thought pop into her head. "Um... Gloria? You are a ghost, aren't you?" Phantasmagloria raised an eyebrow. "Yeah." Vinny scratched her head. "So you do realize you could just pass on, and be with your husband-to-be, right...?" A cricket could be heard, as Phantasmagloria sat there feeling like a complete idiot.

"That's a very good question, but you see, the reason I haven't passed on is..." She couldn't think of an excuse. She sighed. "Well... this is awkward. Anyway, you beat me fair and square. Ellie's gonna be really proud of you for making it this far. But don't think that means she's gonna go easy on you, when you get to her." She said, immediately changing the subject. Gooigi returned to his capsule in the poltergust as E. Gadd joined the conversation. "Regardless, we have a mission to complete. And proving to her that we deserve that key card is the last step to reaching Maxill." Phantasmagloria dusted herself off. "Good luck with that, I say. There's a reason why even Mordread is afraid of him. But I won't tell you what song to dance to." Vinny and Luigi waves goodbye as they hopped back on the elevator. "So Luigi... how come it took you so long to reach us?" Luigi explained that the bouncer saw him. But just when he expected him to beat the stuffing out of him, he proceeded to go on one giant rant about how hard his work day was. Luigi didn't dare leave prematurely and risk angering him, so he had Gooigi go on ahead until he was done.

His peers couldn't help but find the story funny. And they had to admit, danger aside, it was indeed the break from all the drama that they do desperately needed. But now it was time to head back to the present. Two final ghosts stood between them, and finally closing the book on this long and rather exhausting adventure of a night. And regrettably, those two final ghosts were Vinny's parents. But this was the homestretch. The last few hurdles to jump over. And there was no going back to the lives the Midnights had been living for so long before tonight. The fate of Mario. Of Elline. And of Maxill... were in their hands...

**(Not much longer, everybody. One more chapter to go before the finale. Doesn't it just get you teeming with anticipation? I've deliberately shown off as little of Maxill's character as possible. I mean, the dude only actually speaks in one scene with the magician trio in this story thus far. Other than that, he's a whisper on the wind, and the reader just has to go off who he was in the prequel story, and the way other characters describe him. That was no accident. He's supposed to be this huge mystery, built up across the entire story. And I'm oh so close to getting to reveal it to you all. Look forward to it.)**


	16. Madre te ama

**(The humble cherry blossom. A symbol of beauty, but also of death. Truly makes one think. How could something be linked to two concepts that are so incompatible with one another? If you ask me, I'd say it's meant as a lesson: life is beautiful. Take the time you're granted to appreciate that gift. Because like physical beauty, life is fleeting. And one day... you'll find yourself reflecting upon how you spent it.)**

Perhaps it was just their exposure to heat back on the previous floor, but the elevator had was rather chilly this time around. The doors closed, and the hypnotic glow of floor 13 was left in the dust. The buzz of the elevator was heard, as they ascended to the Master Suites. It was reserved only for the richest of guests. The kind that would make Wario faint. But it was also the home of Vinny's bedroom, as well as her parents'. But when the doors opened, they were met with the sight of a stone-brick road, leading up to a large entrance, like you'd see on an old Japanese palace. Vinny and Luigi looked around at the room before them. "Huh...? This doesn't make any sense, I thought we were on floor 16." Vinny thought aloud. "Actually, you _are. _My scanners tell me that's where you two happen to be. I suspect this is like what happened with Nivyn and that Meticulous Ladybird, or whatever you called it." Luigi pointed out how that must mean that Elline is here. "Yes... Mother always keeps her promises. Let's just hope we can prove to her that we can take father." Vinny stated. Luigi nodded, and they both approached the door.

**(The music "Forest of Sleep" by YouTuber "Medieval World Music" plays)**

Another room. But this one had a window in it. One that gazed out into the starry night sky. This was definitely an illusion, like the professor claimed. In the room, there were some stands, holding samurai armor, also known as ō-yoroi (pronounced oh-you-roy). The walls were decorated with old Japanese ink paintings, and the room was lit by lanterns. "Say, weren't you in a place like this once, Peach?" Daisy asked. "You mean Bowser's Kingdom? Yeah, I was. Though it's a shame I had a bad first impression. You know, being kidnapped and all." Gazing out the window, Vinny and Luigi saw they were on the top floor of a fancy palace. And outside on the ground was a lush garden next to a forest. And on a hill in this garden, beneath a single cherry blossom tree, was the unmistakable form of Elline. "Bingo." Vinny spoke to herself.

She turned to Luigi. "At least there's no question on where we're supposed to go. But as nice as this place is, don't forget that feudal Japan was a dangerous place. Expect traps." She explained. Luigi nodded, and they started working their way down. "How does Bowser afford all that stuff anyway?" Daisy inquired. Peach took a sip of her tea. "Coins aren't exactly hard to come across. I mean, in most places you can find them on the ground." Luigi and his partner in crime traversed the palace, finding whatever stairs downwards they could find. But it didn't take long for something to impede their progress. Luigi ended up stepping on a pressure plate disguised as a floorboard, and in response, four ghost ninjas appeared in a puff of smoke! Trying to win them some time to think of a way out of this conundrum, Vinny thought of halting their attack for a few precious seconds with an off-hand remark. "Didn't anyone tell you posers that real shinobi didn't fight in clear view?"

Thinking fast, she rolled underneath one of the ninjas, and yanked a circular shield off a nearby statue before chucking it at her opposition like a frisbee. "Heads up, Luigi!" Three of the ninjas ducked, but one of them got pinned by the projectile against the wall. Not wasting the opportunity, Luigi got a capture stream on another one, and flung him straight into a cactus plant sitting precariously by the window. But even though these chumps weren't the genuine article, they were armed with throwing stars. Vinny and Luigi started making a run for it, with Luigi trying to suck up any of the slicy shurikens whizzing through the air at them. Normally Luigi would just suck up these guys, but considering Vinny's outfit from Elline had special protective powers, it was best to assume these ninja costumes were similar in that regard. At the end of the hallway was a fork in the path, and a suspicious looking wooden door. No one ever places a door in the center of a crossroad like this. So Vinny started to tug on it.

Luigi vaulted out of the way just in time as Vinny opened the door, only for a storm of kunai exploded out of it. So it appeared the door was just another trap. But this time, they used it to their advantage. The kunai dispensers in the door shot one of the remaining ninja dead on, ripping his costume to shreds. Knowing he was now defenseless, the ghost retreated. And so that left just one. Seeing he was now outnumbered, the final ninja jumped to his last resort. He pulled out a clay bomb, and tossed it out into the middle of the room. "Get out of there, youngsters!" E. Gadd advised, as the bomb went off. Blowing everyone involved back from the shockwave. Vinny and Luigi were sent tumbling out the window, but Vinny managed to grab onto a banner, with Luigi holding on by her legs. Seeing another window below them, Vinny swung them back and forth in the hopes of getting close enough to it before she loses her grip. And just as her arms were about to give out, she was successful.

As the duo lay collapsed on the floor from the ordeal, they slowly got up. "Ugh. Let's not do that again... But atleast we're closer to the bottom." Vinny commented. And so after a minute, they resumed their exploration. As they made their way to the bottom floor, something clicked in Vinny's head. "I remember how Nivyn's illusion worked. The threat of Stormy Weather was symbolic of the pain and confusion she felt towards the uncertainty of our life... As for what all this could represent..." she paused to analyze the gloomy atmosphere of this palace. Beautiful as it may be, it was also lacking in substance. In warmth, or life. "I feel that this represents mother's feelings about father. A lone, impenetrable fortress that gifts no refuge to her. Even if she can't remember it, I think she still subconsciously hates him for his mistakes..." Luigi put a hand on her shoulder, seeing that she was letting the somber atmosphere get to her.

She sighed. "But... it changes nothing. If there's anyone who can wake her up, its me." They walked outside into the garden. Just like everything else thus far, it was very pretty, but had an unavoidable aura of loneliness. To reach the hill with the tree, they walked over a tiny bride spanning an equally tiny stream, that they could easily walk through if they didn't mind getting their shoes wet. And standing there under the tree, gazing into its trunk as the wind blew gently through her hair... was Elline. "I cannot hear any music from the floor below us. You were successful in beating Gloria, weren't you?" She spoke in a detached, dejected tone. "Mother..." Elline slowly turned around. Her expression was blank, but Vinny could tell she was internally conflicted.

**(The music "1AM Dream" from Animal Crossing: New Leaf, plays)**

Elline looked up at the moon, its radiant glow shimmering in the stream behind her visitors. "Lovely night... isn't it?" Her sentence tinged with a sense of longing. She took a few steps to her right, closing her eyes as she walked. "In feudal Japan, the land was ruled by lords, vying for power over one another. If you were in a respected position, you had to exercise caution, lest you be assassinated by a hitman in the night. Or poisoned by your next lunch." She opened her eyes, knelt down and picked up a fallen cherry blossom. "Your father is afraid of something. And that fear prompted him to cut himself off from all outside channels." She held the cherry blossom close to her heart. "It stung, to watch helplessly as he walked out of our lives. I tried my best to forget about the whole thing. By making friends with Hellen, and Gloria, and all that..." She then let the cherry blossom go into the wind. Watching it drift away with a look of pain in her eyes, before turning back to Vinny.

"And of course, by sharing what happy moments you and I had. You were all I had left from this..." She then stared at the ground. "But I suppose this night would come sooner or later... I alone can't fill the void in your heart that Maxill left behind. I know that first-hand." Vinny walked up to her, and held her hand. "Don't undersell yourself. There were times when I was only able to keep moving forward because you were there for me. Without you, I would've turned out exactly like Nivyn. I would've given up, surrendered all my hope to the harshness of reality. I'll never forget all you've done for me." Elline paused, before smiling a sad smile. A single tear trailing down her face. "No matter how you may change... you will always be my sweet little angel." Vinny wasn't sure if she simply didn't notice the tear, or didn't care enough to wipe it away. "But I digress..."

She walked up towards the tree once again. Leaning her head back in the wind. "It is for reasons like this that I can't let you face him until you're ready. As such, don't expect me to hold back. Like how a small fragile seed can grow into a mighty oak tree... I wish to see how much you've grown." Luigi held his poltergust at the ready, as Vinny gazed solemnly up at her mother. "Of course... Do what you need to do." Elline exhaled, as the area went silent. "I bare the form of a geisha. But now I must unleash the demon within..." ectoplasm leaked out of her skin, and soon submerged her. Vinny backed away, and put up her guard for whatever was to come. The moon in the sky turned red, as well as the cherry blossoms, as they were blown into the air like confetti.

**(The music "Frozen Elegance" by YouTuber OrionMagnus plays)**

As the blackness cleared, the figure standing there was a long haired woman with a red ninja scarf covering her face. Her ears were elf-like, and her skin was jet black. Standing in star contrast to her red pupil-less eyes. She wore a skin-tight black suit with a red sash, as well as knee-guards, and elbow-guards. Both red. And in her hands was a sheethed katana emanating a creepy red glow. This was Elline's repressed anger given life: Oni. She tossed Vinny a sword of her own, so as to provide a fair fight. She only had one thing to say, as she unsheathed her blade, Sol Corrupt: "Come at me." Vinny grasped the katana in her hands tight as she stared down her mother's dark side. She and Luigi charged at her, Luigi also choosing to use the hilt of the poltergust like a sword. But the volatile swordmaster darted her arm like an angry wasp as she deflected every blow thrown at her. "Hmf." She spun on her heel, and sent both her attackers tumbling backwards with a single swipe.

Oni set her sights on Luigi first, signifying that even in this state, Elline didn't want to hurt her daughter. Luigi barely blocked the assault with the poltergust in time. But his fear of being sliced like ham wasn't over yet, as Oni aggressively smashed her blade against his vacuum over and over again! Eventually, Luigi's only line of defense was blown out of his hand by her ruthless strength. But as she stood, about to land the final coup de grace, Vinny ran at her from the side, sword in hand. Oni swerved around her daughter, and her attack, and attempted to slash her from behind, but Vinny has fast reflexes, and spun around to block the attack. Backflipping an incredible distance back, Oni saw one of the trees from the nearby forest next to her. And so she cleanly sliced it in half with enough force to send it spiraling into the air before kicking it in Vinny's direction.

Luigi scrambled to get out of the way, but Vinny merely leapt forward and cut the tree with such speed and precision that she made a hole in it just big enough to duck through safely. But Oni wasn't just gonna let Vinny take the battle to her. She dashed across the water of the stream like a basilisk lizard as she raced towards her opponent. Vinny ducked under the bridge, intent to close the gap herself. And when the two swords clashed, a shockwave blasted out, shattering all the windows in the palace. "He's not as hopeless as you think." Vinny stated, as her sword wobbled against her foe's. Oni raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "Father. I know it's hard to try and reconnect after all this time, but he's family." Oni did not respond, instead kicking Vinny up onto the bridge before lunging at her once again from the sky.

But Vinny rolled out of the way, watching in amazement as Oni reduced the bridge to splinters. Vinny then arched her body backwards as Oni closed the gap in an instant and nearly sliced off her nose in the process! Knowing she'd be cut down in an instant if she idles, Vinny dived backwards until she could think of a plan. However, Oni seemed to know what she was thinking, and started pouring even more energy into her vile katana. Flipping up as Oni struck the ground, the concrete spewing sparks upon contact, Vinny somersaulted behind a gong, and before Oni could react, she struck it as hard as she could! The gong slammed into Oni, sending her barreling backwards, and straight into the wall of the palace. Briefly slumping to the ground, her eyes radiated with frustration. "Weak..."

Getting back up, she started running up the walls of the palace. "Oh no, you don't!" Vinny shouted, as she chased her up the walls, leaving Luigi to nervously watch the whole thing from the ground. Noticing her pursuer was gaining on her, Oni dove her blade into the building as she ran up it. Sending chunks of stone tumbling down. Vinny wasn't gonna be deterred that easily though, and evaded the falling rubble as she sprinted up after her mother. Eventually, both of them reached the roof. The wind blowing much harder up here from the altitude. Oni held her katana low. "All this power... and yet it's still not enough?" Vinny took this moment to catch her breath. "I sympathize with how you feel. Wanting to stick with what feels safer. With what makes life more bearable. The thought of confronting something so painful is probably the last thing you wanna do, and you feel you have no control of the situation, anyway."

Oni did not respond. "But... You have to be strong. If there's any chance that you can fix what's broken, I beg of you to take it." Oni gripped her sword tight. "I've tried, Vinny... So many times. It's not worth the heartache. All I need to be satisfied is you..." Vinny walked towards her. "You may say that, but you're not even convincing yourself that's true. Things aren't gonna get better until you make it better. If anything, it's just gonna get worse over time." Vinny held out her hand. "We're all here for you. But we can only support you if you let us." Oni hesitated. The conflict in her heart now rising up to the surface. But in a split second, her face contorted back into anger, and she raised her blade once again. Vinny leapt back, ready to move any second.

Oni plunged her sword into the roof, draining every ounce of energy she had into it. The power output was so great, that the illusion itself started distorting in response! The sky turned dark red, and the world shifted in and out like a dream. A really bad dream. "Gore gazer!" She shouted, as fissures of red energy burst out of the structure, threatening to blow it all to pieces! Vinny ran towards her, but some unseen force was pushing her back. This struggle of desperately trying to inch forward, when the force of the world pushes back with all its might... it was such a sad way for someone to view living. But Vinny wasn't giving up. She pushed forth with everything she had, and managed to get close enough to Oni to try again. She reached out her hand once more, even though she felt the slightest loss of focus would send her spiraling. "Take my hand!" She pleaded.

Oni, who didn't even try to hide her agony at this point, kicked Vinny away, but in doing so, knocked something loose from Vinny's pocket. Floating peacefully in the wind was a piece of paper. But not just any piece of paper. It was the drawing Vinny found back on floor 2. A drawing she made when she was little, of her, Elline, and Maxill. Time seemed to slow down as Oni saw it fluttering in the air. And her expression, though someone shielded by her ninja scarf, was that of hundreds of emotions all fighting for dominance. After a second, Oni... let go of her sword. Her attack stopped mid-way, and she fell to her knees. Not out of exhaustion, but something that she could barely describe. And before she knew it... she was crying. The illusion stabilized once again, as Vinny got back up and carefully walked over to her mother. Retrieving the drawing, before it flew off the roof.

"What have I been doing all this time...? I'm supposed to be your mother, I'm... I'm supposed to be better than this..." she whimpered, choking back the tears. Vinny knelt down beside her. "It's okay." Oni couldn't help but feel pathetic, breaking down like this in front of her own flesh and blood. "No, it's not okay! I'm supposed to protect you, not this...!" Vinny held her mother's face, trying to get her to make eye contact. "No... I mean, it's okay to feel what you're feeling right now." Oni didn't say anything. Probably because she couldn't spit out a word like this. But this... all of this... it touched something, deep down in her. Vinny saw Oni's body start to glow with some sort of heavenly light. A light that quickly enveloped her vision, and then faded once again. The illusion faded away, and she found herself in her old bedroom. There was a poster of Ladybug on her wall, some old toys she used to play with in the corner, and her mother Elline, back in her original form, still weeping on the floor.

Luigi watched on, but politely chose not to say anything, not really knowing what was going on anyway. After a minute or two, Elline finally calmed down enough to speak. Her eyes opening to reveal her pupils had returned. Remembering what happened last time, Vinny realized that meant Elline's memory had been restored. "I remember now... I was the one who did this to your father. When he told me about the contract, I pushed him away..." she looked up at Vinny. "Oh, Vinny... Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?" Vinny offered her hand one last time. "What's in the past is in the past. Besides, it's not purely your fault. If anything, it's King Boo, for scamming us out of our freedom." And this time... Elline took it. She stood up, and wiped away her tears. "Thank you so much, sweetheart... You mean the world to me." Vinny looked around at her room. It felt nostalgic to be here again, now remembering her old life.

"So mother... Can we please go to see father?" Elline took a deep breath, and smiled. One of the real smiles she wore very rarely. "Yes. There's no doubt in my mind that you're ready for this. The man who was once your father is so long gone... but maybe... just maybe, you have what it takes to bring him back." She handed Vinny the key card, and they hugged each other. "Will you come with us to see him?" Vinny asked. Elline shook her head. "Not right now. I need to get my thoughts straight. But I promise I'll be there, as soon as I can." Vinny nodded. "Alright... Come on, Luigi. The hour is at hand." Luigi happily followed her, as they started to exit the room.

"Oh, and... One more thing, Vinny." Vinny looked back at her mother, to signify she was listening. "I want you to do what I couldn't all these years... _Please... _save your father." Vinny stood straight. "I will." And with that, they left. It took so many trials and tribulations. So many gauntlets, and challenges. But there was one final ghost standing between them, and rescuing not just Mario, but the Midnights as well. One ghost who needed Vinny more than anyone in the world: and that was Maxill. The final battle... was here.

**(Man, that really hits you right in the feels, doesn't it? But at long last, we're here. The chapter I had envisioned ever since I started this story. The _final _chapter. And I assure you, I will pour all my writing prowess into closing this thing out on a high note. Maxill was there when this story began... and it's only fitting now Maxill will be there, when this story ends...)**


	17. Days gone by

**(DISCLAIMER: This is NOT the final chapter. Merely something to help tease it, as well as provide some much-needed background about how Maxill changed over the years. If you wanna head right to the finale, you can skip this chapter when I finish writing chapter 18. Now then... This is the story of a man who wanted to do what was best for his loved ones. And it cost him... _everything._)**

**Many many years ago...**

**(The music "Subcon Forest Time Rift theme" from A Hat in Time plays)**

Maxill was doing everything right, within his control. His hair was combed, his tuxedo was void of any stains, and he made sure his posture was right at home in a fancy restaurant like this. And yet, he still felt nervous. The waiter had already given him his free bread while he waited for his date to arrive. His palms were sweaty as he kept looking back at the clock, and the door, and the windows. He knew it'd only make time go slower, but he couldn't help it. But while he was considering bailing out on the whole thing, there she was. Walking in like that good-looking woman from those Detective Noir films. As she was checking in, he took the opportunity to put on his best act of composure, looking at his reflection in the window to assure himself he looked fine.

"Sorry for the late arrival. Dear ol' daddy decided to give me the whole _'make sure he treats you well' _speech before I left. And you know how he can go on for quite a while." She said, playfully rolling her eyes. "I understand what you mean. My aunt Draglede has a strong case of neophobia. One time I brought my new phone with me, and she aggressively accused me of witchcraft." That story made her chuckle, something that helped Maxill feel less anxious. Elline then looked at the menu. "Have you decided what you wanna order?" Maxill grew an awkward smile. "I actually haven't even looked at the menu yet. You?" He asked, speaking truthfully. "No, but I'm certain I'll figure it out before the waiter gets back."

Maxill nodded along. He still remembered the day they met. She was having a rather audible argument with her employer, Rick. Well... it was more accurate to say 'ex-employer', now. The rumors always painted him as a guy who wanted everything done a certain way, and if his employees deviated from the norm in the slightest, he'd totally lose it. The whole exchange ended with her tossing her apron at the overly hairy ape of a man, and marching out the door. Being the gentleman he was, Maxill walked out to check on her after she seemed to have cooled down a bit. She said she was looking for a part-time job, to help pay off her college funds. Feeling sorry for her, he bought her a soda. And the two proceeded to chat.

Before leaving, Maxill told her they had an available job at a clothing store in his family's hotel. And if she submitted an application, he'd try and put in a good word for her. So he gave her his business card, and they waved goodbye. She did end up taking the job, and their relationship grew from there. Thanks to his good deeds, she was able to get the money she needed. And now, here they were on a date. Something told Maxill, that this was the beginning of something special...

**Timeskip...**

The wedding was a joyous occasion. Friends and family alike attended the ceremony. Elline had spent weeks making her own wedding dress, and she looked like a dream in it. Not that she couldn't afford one through normal means, heavens no. She just had that spark to add her own personal touch to things. That was what he liked about her: she was everything he wanted to be. Passionate, resolute, never losing sight of her goals. And Elline seemed to like him for his kind and good-willed nature. There was no hesitation when they gave their vows.

After all the excitement, the newly wed couple returned to their hotel for the night. These events only served to strengthen the pre-existing playground discussion among the staff about Elline essentially romancing her way to the top, but they didn't let it bother them. And Maxill made sure no one got away with hurling such accusations at his wife. This day would go down as one of the happiest, for the two lovers. And the metaphorical sun of these glory days was still high in the sky. It's amazing, how easily such a wonderful memory can be turned into one of bitter sadness.

**Timeskip...**

Elline was walking back from putting Vinny in her crib. Gently closing the door behind her. Sitting in an armchair not far away, Maxill chuckled. "No need to be so cautious. You know she can sleep through almost anything." Elline smiled, taking a seat next to him. "Yeah, but better to be safe than sorry. She gets cranky without enough shut eye." The fireplace was nice and warm, even as the winter winds were starting to blow in, outside. Vinny seemed to like watching the snow plow out the window, whenever the road needed clearing. Elline was looking forward to the day when she got older, and she could film her making her first snowman.

Speaking of Elline, she was able to reconnect with an old friend of hers, in the form of Hellen Gravely. When Hellen offered to set up shop on the new floor, Maxill happily agreed. He felt his wife could use some spa time every now and then, considering her maternal role towards the latest addition of their family. Vinny was a happy child, but dealing with any baby tends to get exhausting from time to time. Raising a child is a challenge that you shouldn't expect to be magically repayed for, but some would argue that sharing the special moments in their life with them is reward enough for the effort. And Maxill and Elline would agree, there.

**Timeskip...**

It was mere minutes after he finished writing his final diary entry, and hid the collection somewhere safe. He was out on the balcony, watching the sun beginning to be swallowed up by the horizon. He heard a knock on the door. "Come in." He didn't even need to look back, to know who it was. "You wanted to see me, father?" He sighed. This wasn't gonna be easy for either of them. "Yes, dear. Please... come here. I need to tell you something important." Vinny paused, but walked over anyway. She had a worried expression. "Am I in trouble, dad?" Maxill hung his head low, and shook it. "No. No, you're not... and I know this may sound weird, but... don't call me dad." That didn't seem to make her feel any better. "What? But why?" Maxill looked away, not wanting to look her in the eyes. "It's... not important. I need you to listen carefully: I placed my trust in someone I shouldn't have. And now that decision is coming back to haunt me."

Vinny didn't say anything. Likely because she didn't know what she could add to this serious talk. Maxill's palms were sweaty. "A bad person is coming to the hotel tonight, and he wants to hurt you and your mother. I am not... I am _NOT... _gonna allow that to happen..." Vinny furrowed her brow in concern. Wanting to speak up, but not knowing how to address him, since he doesn't want to be called 'father'. Maxill let out another sigh, and faced her. "Even if we fled for the rest of our lives, I don't know if he'd still find us. But I have a sliver of a plan. I want you and Elline to hide. Find the best place to hide that you can, before the sun goes down. Since the terms of the contract take effect tonight, if you can _just _stay safe until morning comes...!" He realized he was clenching his fists, and took a moment to regain his composure.

"...But what about you? What are you gonna do...?" She asked, her voice tinged with sadness. He didn't feel like he was even fit to tell her, but they didn't have much time left anyway. "I'm not going to run from this. I was the one that brought this on us, and I'm going to take responsibility for what I've done." He knew this was probably the last thing she wanted to hear, but if he didn't get it out now, he would likely have missed his chance forever. "You can't do that! What if something happens to you!? Mother would lose it, and... and...!" Her eyes started to tremble, welling up with tears. But Maxill started turning for the door. "You'll be fine. I have no intention of leaving you like this. It's the coward's way out. Rest assured, Vinny: I will make this right. Weeks. Months. Years. It doesn't matter. I will make... this right." He then walked away. He didn't want to leave her without a proper goodbye, but he couldn't bear standing in her sunlight any longer.

Besides... it would probably be easy for her to forget him, in time. In fact... in fact, her life would probably be much happier...

without him.

**Near present day...**

Maxill awoke back in his office, like every other night. Why do these bad memories feel the need to taunt him on a regular basis? He never forgot his promise, that day. He'll never _let _himself forget his promise, that day. He heard a knock on his door. "Come in." He stared. It was Vinny. Standing in her usual upright manner, with her arms folded behind her back. "I wish to inform you that Mordread is once again making our female guests uncomfortable. Though the recent drop in complaints suggests that your warning had some effect on how he conducts himself." Maxill sunk back into his chair. "Figures. Notify Kruller to escort him to my office, after his shift." Vinny nodded in a slow robotic fashion. Her voice, and her eyes completely empty. Either because her emotions had faded away, or because she had long since suppressed them.

"It will be done." Vinny stood there, in case Maxill had further instructions. And it turns out, he did. "Good. Now then, I have an important task for you, a few days from now. We'll be having some special guests at our hotel. Four revered icons from the Mushroom Kingdom. You will be informed of their identities tomorrow. I would ask you to see them safely to their rooms. That is all." Vinny once again nodded. "Very well." And with that, she walked away. It was better this way. Keeping things purely professional. Helped give him some semblance of peace. But his job wasn't done yet. He's a man of his word, and he will not go back on it. His only salvation was his final words before his time was up. He will make this right. If it was the last. Thing. He. Does...

**(The music "Midnight Mountain" from Spyro: Reignited Trilogy plays)**

**(Be prepared for Chapter 18: Contractual Obligation.)**


	18. Contractual Obligation pt 1

**(If you asked me what the moral of this story is, well... it's a lot of things. And I invite you to come out of it with whatever interpretation makes sense to you. It's about coming to grips with the past, when it begins to drag you down in the present. It's about overcoming the sadness that tears its head when life feels beyond your control. It's about reaching out to the people out there who have nothing. No _one. _But regardless of what you take from it, I hope you've been able to identify and/or sympathize with at least one of the characters in it. And maybe, that you learned something useful about yourself from their inclusion.)**

**(The music "Midnight Moonlight" from Kirby Triple Deluxe plays)**

The doors opened. A single open hallway laid sprawled out before them. The carpets were indigo, and the curtains, gently floating at the mercy of the breeze, were blue. The pale moonlight dancing across the floor, to the empty tune of these empty corridors. The walls were black, and the floor was decorated with dark gray tiles, with a glossy shine. "At last, it comes to this." E. Gadd whispered to himself, as Vinny and Luigi stepped off the elevator... and towards their final confrontation. The ceiling held up silver chandeliers, and in the center of the hallway stood a roman fountain. If Luigi didn't know any better, he'd have thought he was in an old and abandoned, yet somehow pristine castle. "Yes. I can feel him in the air... He's here. Up ahead." Though not constructed for that purpose, this hallway seemed to put Maxill at ease. For it was just as empty, and lonely as him. As they walked, Vinny and Luigi could see transparent illusions of Maxill and Elline slow dancing. Perhaps, it was a physical representation of his daydreams of what used to be. What should have been, but wasn't.

"I don't think I've ever seen anything quite so... depressing, as this." Peach commented. Keeping a respectful tone, so as not to show rudeness towards this serious event. And as they approached the door to Maxill's office, the illusions faded away. Just like that, gone. They hadn't even entered his office yet, and Vinny already felt the long-dormant strings of their relationship pulling and tugging on her heart. They were at the door. No more second guesses. No last minute hesitation. Here they were. Ready to enter this room, at the top of the hotel. Vinny shakily clutched the door handle, and looked at Luigi. "I want to have the chance to talk to him. Don't use the poltergust unless we're all out of options, okay?" Luigi nodded. She didn't even need to tell him that. Taking a moment to steady herself, Vinny opened the door. And there he was.

In his chair. Facing the window, and watching the moon set. "You're here." He spoke, in a solemn voice. Luigi closed the door behind them. "Before anything else, I need to know... Why'd you do it? Peach, Daisy, and the others. They had nothing to do with this." Maxill spun around in his chair. His head slumped over like a zombie, drained of any energy. "Yes... You've gone through much to get here, it's only fair that you know." He pushed his chair in, and rested his head on his hand. On his desk was a piece of paper. The aged appearance of which, gave away exactly what it was. "Long ago, I stumbled across my own diary entries. And as a result, I regained my memories. Ever since, I've looked over this contract hundreds of times. I know every sentence. Every syllable. Every letter. And though it is a somber avenue left for us out of this mess, it is my duty to tread it."

He took out a magnifying glass, and held it over the passage he was referring to. "If the second party, is removed of all troublesome individuals to their future endeavors, the terms affecting the first party shall be lifted." Now it all made sense. He was doing this to free them from the contract. "Thanks to Luigi's past endeavors, King Boo is imprisoned. But even so, his hold on us still remains. Imprisoning the lot of you in paintings was my solution to this problem. Cruel as it may seem, you and your friends would have lived on to be liberated another day. And fortunately, this statement in the contract doesn't pin down a specific timeframe for you to be out of commission." He looked up at them. "But thanks to you Luigi, my hopes were once again crumpled underfoot. I really only have myself to blame for underestimating you." E. Gadd then spoke up. "Why didn't you try to contact me? I would've been happy to help."

Maxill's expression, his eyelids permanently sagging, didn't change. "I tried. So many times. But you didn't respond to any of my letters, or calls. I eventually accepted you had moved on from us." He stated, glumly. "My old lab was destroyed when the volcano erupted, and so I moved to a different location. Maybe that's why." Maxill shifted which hand would hold his head up. Probably wondering what kind of idiot builds a lab right next to an active volcano. "Well... it doesn't matter now. We're all here to support you, father." Maxill's frown sank even further. "Don't call me that. I'm not your father. I'm the man who ruined your life. And I haven't come close to redeeming myself yet, if that's even a possibility." Vinny walked over to his desk. "You've suffered enough. Relationships aren't just some debt to be repayed. And you don't have to force yourself to make up for something that wasn't your fault." Maxill's eyes wandered away from her gaze, as he lazily got up out of his chair, and paced over to the wall, looking down at his feet.

Vinny walked over, and held his hand. "I don't hate you for what happened, father. Please come back to us." Maxill looked back at her. His face rife with shame. "But I do..." As they talked, Luigi spotted something propped up against Maxill's desk: Mario's painting. Not wanting to disturb this heartfelt exchange, he slowly began creeping over to the painting. "If I could only turn back the clock, and treasure those days just a while longer... No... Even if it were possible, I couldn't cope with living through all this again." Vinny politely stood there, choosing her words very carefully in her head. "Every time I look at the walls of this office, at you, even at myself... I am constantly reminded of my transactions." Luigi was in the process of using the dark light on the painting to revive Mario, but before he could finish, Maxill noticed what he was doing. "Father-" the instant his eyes locked with Luigi's, the Italian plumber was lifted into the ceiling!

Vinny then watched helplessly as his body was ragdolled into every available surface by some unseen psychic force. His face getting violently peeled against the walls like a tire grinding against the road. "What's happening!?" Vinny shouted, Maxill's eyes following Luigi wherever he went. His dead stare seeming to be the cause of the violence. "I did not want to do this, but you forced my hand." With the sheer force of his mind, he psychically ripped the poltergust, gear from gear. Luigi panicked, as he desperately tried to get down. Vinny rushed over to her father, shaking him. "Please, stop!" But Maxill didn't even react, as Luigi and what remained of the poltergust were blown out the window! Smashing through the glass, as Luigi was sent tumbling to his doom. Screaming all the way down. "Luigi!" She looked down from the window as Luigi became just a dot on the horizon. She tried to jump out the window after him, but some sort of invisible wall stopped her.

It was the contract. They weren't able to exit the building with it still in effect. She stifled back her agonizing futility, as she lowered her head in defeat. All the while, Maxill looked at her with his head still sunken, and a self-deprecating look on his face. "I know apologies are meaningless in the face of such actions. But my promise is the only thing I have left keeping me going... and so I must press on." Vinny slowly turned around. Even in the face of all of this, she still believed in him. It must be difficult to accept her kindness. It scares him, because it's so foreign and unfamiliar. Maxill slipped his hands into his pockets, standing in a slightly hunched over state. "I know it sounds evil, but all I want is for you and your mother to be happy. So I must recapture them... It's the only way to set you free." Vinny took out the drawing she had from before, making sure Maxill could see it. "All I need to be happy, is to have you back with us."

But the drawing didn't seem to inspire the reaction Vinny was hoping for. Maxill just closed his eyes, tilting his head to the right. "That is the one thing, Vinny... the one thing I cannot do." A cloud of darkness filled the room, until everything was smothered by its expanse. When Vinny could see again, she saw herself standing on top of a huge tower. It looked like a thin variant of the Tower of Babel, made out of prison cells. All of it spanning high above an endless field of clouds, with the moon and stars casting their light blue glow down on them. "This is the natural outcome of learning the truth. It would appear that hiding those diary pages was merely delaying the inevitable." Vinny looked up to see Maxill, floating above her in a standing position. "My only request is that you make this quick. The more this drags on, the more painful it becomes for both of us."

**(The music "Secret Boss Theme" from Kingdom Hearts 3: ReMind plays)**

Vinny looked down, dejected. "I guess the time for talking is over. Hopefully I can reach you through my actions." Maxill then started charging up an orb of purple energy in his palm. "Mine is a path of rot and decay. Following it simply to reach me will leave you in ruin as well." He then shot out a purple laser towards her. Something Vinny gracefully dodged. She knew he was just trying to spur her on into attacking him. "Sorry about the silence there. Was heating up some popcorn for the final battle... Where's Luigi?" The professor asked. Vinny buried her face in her palm as she ducked under another of her father's lasers. "Wait a minute... I think I may have an idea, just crazy enough to work! Keep him busy as long as you can, youngster!" He said, before hanging up. Maxill dawned a sad smirk. "I guess he failed to recall that I can hear him." He joked, in an attempt to remove some tension from the situation.

Vinny frowned. "You're right about one thing: this encounter isn't pleasant in the slightest." She then flew towards him, hoping to knock some sense into him. Maxill then summoned a cane out of thin air. Not just any cane, though. A cane that belonged to a certain fictional super-villain Vinny knows of. "Such is the reality we live in." Using his new weapon, he conjured up a boa constrictor made out of rope! Vinny was weirded out by the odd creature, but quickly realized how deadly it was as it wrapped around her neck and started strangling her! Even as her windpipe was being smothered by the man-made animal, this action struck an off chord with her. Even in this state, her father would never take such extreme measures. Something wasn't right here... "If you cannot bring yourself to destroy me, or refuse to back down, my only remaining option is to place you in a painting as well, until my work is done." For a minute, Vinny thought she was finished. But just as she was about to give out, something cut her free.

After taking a moment to breath, she looked in her hand to see a familiar looking parasol, sharp blades of wind emanating from it. "That's right! Nivyn's still a part of me." Having a means of defending herself, Vinny took a battle stance. Maxill seemed unfazed by this, using his cane to summon some strange wooden robots teeming to the brim with electricity. "Heh. I guess I inherited my imagination from you. But I'm not giving up that easily." The fleet of mindless drones charged at her, blasting beams of electricity in her direction. Vinny however, had other plans. She created a wall of ice to shield herself, before launching it at her assailants, like a car attempting to do a cartwheel. It absolutely flattened her foes down the center, and as the remaining robots swarmed her from all directions, she leapt up above them and jolted them with a bit of lightning of her own. It easily overloaded their circuits, causing them to explode on the spot in a heap of wood and fire. Seeing that Maxill was now wide open, Vinny flew in to try and destroy his cane.

But Maxill had quick reflexes, raising his cane upwards, to form a barricade made of prison bars. Vinny stopped herself before she crashed into them, and watched her father carefully as he once again created an obstacle out of his own energy. This time, he recreated the toy soldiers from the first Luigi's Mansion! Only they were now dressed in prison guard uniforms. Their cork guns pointed square at her, Vinny got behind one of them to shield herself from the attack. She then froze its body solid, and smashed it into a thousand pieces with a kick. "Please just go back to your room, Vinny. I promise when the dust settles, it'll be just like it used to be." Vinny dodged the gunfire from the remaining soldiers, using a vortex of wind to sweep up the attacks and hurling it back at them. One of them ducked, while the other was riddled with holes. "Father, it CAN'T be like old times. The past is long gone, don't you see?" Maxill sadly looked away, and used his cane to create a giant Goliath of a monster with a pyramid for a head!

"I'm calling your name, father... but only you can choose to hear it." She said to herself, as she flew under the ogre's legs, blasting a beam of ice at the floor he was standing on. The beast swung its colossal arms at her as she sped along, freezing the floor beneath him, but she weaved through his fingers, and before long, he was literally standing on ice. Before she could get to a safe distance, the monster grabbed her and raised her up to where its face would be, if it had one. What the monster didn't know was that it was already too late. She blew his beefy hand off of her, and summoned the strongest gust of wind she could muster. The monster realized what she was doing, but he was helpless to do anything about it as his feet slid at the mercy of the wind, leaving him teetering over the edge of the building, and plunging through the clouds. Both Vinny and her father were floating there, panting. The fight having greatly exhausted them both. Fortunately for Vinny, the professor's plan had finally come to her aid.

"Maxill!" Both ghosts turned down to the building the monster was just knocked off of, to see Elline. And one by one, every ghost in the hotel appeared along with her, with obvious exceptions like Anubyss, and Corrosive. Vinny giggled at the sight of Mordread, who appeared to have his mouth taped shut by the other ghosts in the containment grid. Maxill stared in disbelief and confusion at the sight. Also amongst the crowd was Peach, Daisy, the professor himself, and... Luigi!? "Luigi? You're still alive!?" Luigi gave a thumbs up. His silence indicating now probably wasn't the best time to explain, a notion Vinny agreed with. "Elline...? Why did you come?" Maxill asked, in a barely audible tone. Elline and the other ghosts flew up to him. "I came to say I was sorry. Blaming you for King Boo's curse was... selfish of me. I felt so helpless to our situation that I didn't know what else to do, but that's no reasonable excuse. So... What I'm trying to say is..." she took up his hands on hers. "I forgive you."

Maxill's expression morphed into that of fear, as he retracted his hands and backed away. "No... No, no, you don't have to say that. I've already made peace with your dislike of me. And I fully understand! I was an idealistic fool, too naive for my own good. This is my punishment." Elline furrowed her brow in concern. "The reason it took me so long to say that is because you never let me. My memory was erased, remember? So even though the feeling persisted, I still couldn't make amends for something I had forgotten. So please... I know you don't want to be this way anymore." Kruller then approached them. "Yeah, boss. I know I'm the worst security guard in the world. No one else was willing to give me a chance. But you did." And then the magician trio did the same. "That's right! And you still let us work for you, even when we failed to break the contract. I mean, you didn't murder us, so you're already better than our former employer." Lindsey pointed out.

Even Clem decided to come out. For once, not smelling like he came back from a pig farm. "Ai'll finally admit it aftur all dese years: the reason me n' the boys made funuh ya back in the day wus because you were jus' more successful den us. There! I said it! Ya happy!?" Elline nodded approvingly. A single tear streamed down his face. A black tear. "I want to believe you... but I... can't." It was at this moment that Vinny noticed something strange: something seemed to be attached to Maxill's back. Were those... chains? They trailed a few inches behind him, and seemed to go invisible past that distance. Now Vinny figured out the last piece of this puzzle: something was forcing Maxill into this state. "Mother. Stand back." Elline was confused by the sudden request, but did as her daughter asked. Vinny blasted lightning out of her parasol at the chains. Time seemed to slow down for a minute, before the electricity exploded to life, and crawled up the chains, exposing all of them were trailing from a single point behind Maxill, and exposing some sort of humanoid figure holding them in place.

The immense force shattered the chains, breaking Maxill free from their grip and rendering him unconscious, prompting Captain Vincent to catch him, having somehow miraculously survived his encounter with the kraken. The assembled crowd watched as the figure fizzled in and out of view from their shocking exposure. Only their silhouette visible against the light of the electricity. Ethereal, like a reflection in a lake. Vinny gripped her parasol tightly. "There's no point in trying to hide anymore, we can all see you." The figure did not say anything. But appearing to agree with its accuser, it allowed itself to be seen. And what an ungodly sight it was: it was some horrible mish-mash of a creature. Half of its body made of white cloth and stray threads, and the other made of cold hard metal. One of its eyes was a button, and the other was robotic, with a red reticle in it. It wore a black sleeveless V-neck shirt that exposed most of its muscular, but skinny chest. Its hair was black, shoulder length, and poorly combed. Its shorts matched its shirt's color scheme, and it wore no shoes. It also had a cape made out of black chains. Its height was equal to Vinny's and its physique indicated this freak of nature was male, even though it likely didn't have a gender.

**"depacsE stcivnoc tsum eb deudbus..." **It had no vocal chords, and as such, could not speak. And yet, hard as it was to explain, everyone could somehow... _feel _what it was saying. "Who... _WHAT_ are you!?" Vinny asked, the creature looking down at them without a shred of humanity in its eyes. **"tnavellerI. A eman I od ton ssessop. fI uoy eriuqer a drow ot sseddra em yb, uoy yam llac em... ****'reliaJ'." **Jailer... That was his name. The only name he'd ever be given. Because he never asked for one. It was not important to his job to have a name. But whatever he was, he clearly couldn't be left standing. So long as he lives, so too will the contract. Because... He _IS _the contract. And there was no doubt in anyone's mind, that he needed to be destroyed...

**(This final chapter ended up being so long that I had to split it into two parts. Thank you all for understanding. And don't worry, I fully intend to explain how Luigi survived, and who Jailer is. I know how frustrating it is when important plot points like that don't get explained, so I have no intention of leaving you hanging. Also, I cranked my music selection for part two into overdrive, so feel free to give the chosen soundtrack a little listen when you can. Helps give that extra bit of immersion that a finale needs.)**


	19. Contractual Obligation pt 2

**"uoY era detneserp eht eciohc fo noitagujbus ro noilleber. yarP uoy ekam eht tcerroc eciohc." **Elline looked down at the other ghosts. "You all keep Maxill away from this thing. Me and Vinny will handle this." They all silently obeyed her order. Despite being tired from her fight with Maxill, Vinny still stood tall. "We will never bow to a beast like you. Not ever again!" Jailer floated there indifferently. **"fI uoy era a taerht, uoy tsum eb detanimile. sihT si eht larutan redro." **Elline spawned her katana to her side. "Yeah, we really don't care what you think is right. Just back off, and leave us alone." Jailer tilted it's head back. **"uoY lliw yebo... rO uoy lliw hsirep." **With the mere snap of his fingers, the illusion around them began to change!

The sea of clouds below them morphed into an ocean of bubbling lava, jagged mountains rised up in the distance, creating a circle encompassing the area. And a dark aura flowed out of him, distorting the sky near him to be pitch black, without stars. "Look lively, Vinny. This will be anything but easy." Elline muttered. Jailer then dawned shackles on his fists, using them as brass knuckles. Vinny gulped. Her mother's statement couldn't look any more true.

**(The music "You Are All Bad Guys Part 2" from A Hat in Time plays)**

Jailer, having command of the chains sunken in his skin like tentacles, reached them out to smack at them from afar. Vinny used her ice powers to freeze any chains in this tunnel of confinement as she raced closer to Jailer, while Elline used her incredible agility, left over from her time as Oni. Not wanting to be put on the defensive, Jailer closed the gap in an instant, and started throwing punches at Vinny. For a complete freak show, Jailer was fast. She successfully evaded his first few jabs, but he ended up hitting her square in the nose! Something that hurt like heck, causing Vinny to wheeze as she resisted the urge to cover it. Seeing this, Elline rushed him from the side. "**NO ONE **does that to my angel!" She went to town on him with her blade, amazed as he was perfectly blocking her assault with his shackles. **"tnepeR." **Jailer ordered, as he caved in her arm against her rib cage with his foot. "You little...!" Using the precious seconds of his attack to exploit an opening, she carved her katana clean into the side of his jaw...!

...But to her horror, it didn't appear to hurt him at all. He lazily pulled out the sword, and bent it into nonexistence with his chains. He then winded back to throw in another blow, but Vinny hastily blew her mother out of harms way with a gust of wind. "I'll have a go at this schemin' billdrat!" Captain Vincent shouted, as he rushed in and relentlessly blasted Jailer with his pistol. Vinny flew over to Elline. "Get to safety, mother! We'll take it from here." Elline shook her head. "I won't just stand by while you're in danger. My weapon may be gone, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless." Having no time to argue, the two of them focused back on their main objective. Vincent launched a wave of his doom sharks to gnaw on Jailer, but the monster was able to summon chain chomps on the ends of his shackles, leaving them to ferociously bite into the flying fish, before tossing them away like trash. **"sihT lliw ton dnats." **Jailer stated, as he used his chains to rip Vincent limb from limb. "Arrr! You eye-offending guttersnipe! Do ye have any idea how long it took to put meself back tegether!?"

Vinny bombarded him with a storm of hail from a distance, till she could spot a weakness. "Why are you doing this!?" Jailer blinked questioningly. As if not understanding the very nature of the question. **"yhW? erehT si on yhw. I tsum od siht. tahT si lla." **Vinny gritted her teeth. "Well, I '_must' _do this too. What do you say to that!?" Jailer didn't have an answer. And probably didn't care either. He was not created to care, he was created to obey his orders. Phantasmagloria then jumped in. "Let me see you dance, boy!" She jeered, as she tosses her literally flaming records at the soulless beast. She managed to chop the chains on his shackles, connecting the chain chomps to him. But reacting fast, Jailer created a slide for them with his chains to send them sliding towards his foes. "Oh, hot pockets! How do you destroy something that was never alive to begin with!?" Vinny created an updraft that blew the sentient balls of metal straight over them and into the lava below, but she was getting _dangerously _tired. Barely having the energy to float anymore.

Elline picked up her daughter in her arms, to protect her. "I don't think we can beat him, guys! He's too strong! Fall back, while you can!" She shouted, carefully maneuvering the maze of chains, winding and weaving to impede her escape. **"tI sraeppa ew tsum tuc ruo sessol." **Jailer skulked, as he sent one of his chains straight towards Phantasmagloria. She tried to block with her records, but it barreled straight through them and punctured her through the chest! Hellen Gravely sicked her polterkitty on Jailer to buy them a few precious seconds. Phantasmagloria was just suspended in place by the chain, like a puppet on a string! "What did you do to her, you monster!?" Polterkitty slashed at his face like it was a scratching post, but Jailer ended up impaling it as well with his fell chains. **"fI uoy lliw ton timbus, ruoy efil ecrof lliw eb deniard sa a nwod tnemyap." **He coldly remarked, without a hint of remorse in his voice. Only now was the grim sense of perspective alluded to by Maxill starting to show itself.

"Please... Stop this madness..." Vinny weakly begged Jailer, in her mother's arms. This must've been a power of his, but even being touched by Jailer was draining her vitality. And though not to the same extent, Elline felt it too. Enahs swooped in and blasted him with a Nintendo zapper. "The game ain't over yet, punk. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!" All the other ghosts then started dog piling onto him, some of them getting chained before even reaching him, and some being lucky enough to start doing some damage. Clem was beating him senseless with a wrench, Chef Saragossa was setting him ablaze, and Amadeus Wolfgeist was playing the trumpet obnoxiously in his ear. But Jailer blasted them all away with a shockwave before chaining them all! And he didn't seem hurt in the slightest! Enahs looked solemnly at Elline and Vinny. "I'll hold him off. You two go somewhere safe." But before he could even get to defending, he got chained as well. Leaving only Elline and Vinny.

Chains wrapped around them, preventing them from getting away. Maybe it was their exposure to him, or perhaps he was speaking more clearly on purpose to convey how serious he was, but Jailer spoke clearly and concisely. **"This is your last chance to concede. We would highly recommend you reconsider." **He threatened, tightening his grip upon saying 'highly', for emphasis. Elline stared angrily up at him, despite knowing they had little hope left, she still wouldn't give him the luxury of seeing her afraid. "You have no right to exist. You don't feel, you don't think, you are nothing but an empty shell holding onto what little purpose you have." Jailer paused. As if trying to assign entirely logical meaning to her words, and failing. **"Irrelevant."** A chain came spiraling towards them, with the threat of draining their life force like the others, but something came in the way of it. Some_one._

"Maxill!?" Elline shouted, as her husband bravely held back the chain with his bare hands. Vinny looked up, barely even conscious at this point. "Fa...ther...?" Maxill strained, as he tightened his grip with all his might. Jailer merely gazed down at him, disinterestedly. **"You too wish to defy? I do not understand." **Maxill groaned. "Of course you can't understand, you brute! I made a promise, and I won't allow anyone, not even _YOU _to break it!" Jailer didn't respond for a full 4 seconds. **"Promises are an unwanted variable. Any source of disloyalty cannot be permitted. Initiating deletion."** He sent in a swarm of chains, lashing and whipping him like a swarm of angry hornets. And eventually, his grip got too sweaty, and he was chained. Elline then watched in horror as Jailer chained the both of them as well. The last thing they saw being the tunnel of black chains around them. **"Threat eliminated. Subduing other targets." **He definitely meant Luigi and his friends, completely defenseless without the poltergust...

Black... Black... Blackness...

Nothing, as far as the eye can see...

What had happened...? Was she dead? Like, more-so than she already was...?

No... The fact that she's here at all means she isn't.

But then... Where is she...?

She got up off of the floor, even though she couldn't see any floor. Amazingly, she saw all the other ghosts here, with her. And then, they heard Maxill's voice. "Jailer was a creature created by King Boo to enforce the contract. I wasn't consciously aware of his existence until just now..." His pupils were back. This is the Maxill that they knew and loved. "So what's... gonna happen?" Phantasmagloria asked. Maxill looked at the ground. His posture much more firm. "I don't know how long it will be, before Jailer absorbs us completely. When that happens... it's all over. Everything." Vinny walked up to him. "There has to be something we can do. I'm sure none of us wanna stay here, and just wait to be devoured." Maxill then looked around at everyone. "Perhaps there is."

All of the ghosts formed a circle around him and Vinny. As if all of them already knew what to do. "What's going on?" She asked, wanting to know. Maxill smiled. For the first time in many many years. "We need a champion to stop Jailer. If you can defeat him in time, there's a chance we'll all be saved." It took a moment for Vinny to realize what he meant. "You want... me? I mean, I'm flattered and all, but are you really sure you wanna place the fate of your lives in _me?" _Elline laughed. "There's no one else better fit for the job, dear. After all, you got past all of us." Vinny looked shyly to the side. "Well yeah, but I had some help along the way." Everyone looked at her with a giddy expression to show their confidence in her. Vinny sighed. "Okay... I'll do it. Just don't place your expectations too high." The other ghosts then started pooling their power into Vinny. A blue aura forming around her, and glowing brighter the more strength she received.

And then Vinny saw a white butterfly touch the blue gem in her hat, and the faze into it. Looking back at her father, she saw he was now dressed as Hawkmoth. "Daydream. I gift unto you the power to end this nightmare once and for all. Do you accept?" Vinny chuckled, and started smiling. "...I do." And then, the world faded to white...

**Meanwhile, out in the illusion...**

Jailer was closing in on Luigi and his friends. His slow pace showing he didn't feel threatened by them at all. **"For meddling in our affairs, your lives shall be taken as well, as compensation. You have no case to plead." **Everyone was backed up against a wall, with no hope of escape. "Please tell me you have some way to get us out of this mess, professor." Daisy said. E. Gadd didn't look much more confident than her. "I'm not even sure if he's a ghost. This is out of my field." He replied. Jailer did not smile. Because he could not smile. Joy, anger, sadness, these and more were all beyond him. He was not made with emotions, and hence could not feel them. **"We thank you for your cooperation." **He stated, as he sent in some chains to drain them like he did the ghosts, but a bright light came in from out of nowhere, obscuring his view. A slashing sound was heard, and he pulled back his chains. They were shorter now. Something cut them! When the light faded, he saw something he could barely comprehend.

It looked like Vinny, but she appeared to be made up of the northern lights themselves! Beautiful greens, blues, and even pinks swirling around in her body. She also had angelic wings, also made of light. Her wardrobe consisted of knight-like armor, and a circlet on her head, both matching the colors that made up her form. And in her hand was a rapier, with a blade of blue and purple light. **"What is this... interference?" **The heavenly being stood protectively in front of Luigi and co. Peach looked at the radiant sight before her. "Wait... is that... Vinny!?" It was Vinny's mind. But this being went by a different name: and that name was Daydream.

**(The song "Worlds Collide" from League of Legends plays)**

Daydream opened her eyes to her opponent. "What I am is the hopes and dreams of everyone in this hotel. What I am is everything your creator tried to crush. This is our home. This is our family. AND YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!" Jailer scoffed. **"Unimportant. You shall submit. Or you shall fall. That is the way it must be." **Daydream swung her blade at the air, creating a force powerful enough to blow Jailer back a quarter of a mile! "I'll show you how flimsy your rationale truly is." In the distance, the sun started rising, creating that beautiful sky where the sun is out, but the stars haven't gone away yet. Daydream then zipped into the sky, after Jailer. With the intent of ending his reign of terror. Jailer sent his chains out to destroy her once more, but Daydream effortlessly sliced through them, not even looking in their direction as she flew swiftly through the morning sky.

Upon reaching Jailer, she slam dunked the top of his head with her fists, sending him spiraling towards the crackling lava below. Jailer managed to stop himself just before he got fried, but Daydream hadn't even begun to get angry. She swung at the air with her rapier, creating a sword beam sprinting towards him with incredible speed. Scurrying out of the way, he began flying up to regain his footing in the fight, failing to see the sword beam's immense force slamming into the molten sea and splashing lava up into the heavens. By the time he saw the tsunami of magma rising up to engulf him, he was buried in it. And yet, he flew out of it. This time however, his shocked and appalled expression showed that it actually hurt him. **"I cannot grasp your power. So you must be destroyed. This is what my role entails." **He told her, as he shot a giant ball of fire into the air, causing it to break apart and come raining back down in a meteor storm. "I hope you've enjoyed taking orders. Because that's all your pitiful existence will have meant." She taunted, as she swerved through the storm of flames.

The two raced towards each other, and when they connected, sword to shackle, the impact birthed a loud crash comparable to a clap of thunder! Blow for blow, shot for shot, Jailer was starting to see how outmatched he was, and thus decided he needed to scheme his way to victory. He caught her sword with his hands. Knowing he wouldn't be able to hold it there for long, he launched every chain attached to his body towards her chest to drain her, but upon contact, each and every one of them shattered like a glass vase hitting the floor. His effort being for nothing, his grip on Daydream's sword slipped, and sliced right into his lower thigh. Howling like a dying animal, Jailer headbutted her to knock her off him. And though he was successful, the sword being pulled out of him in the process, he had a bad feeling she was playing along for her amusement.

He clutched his injury, and looked at her in pure disbelief. **"Why do you resist...? I do not understand..." **Daydream placed her hands on her hips. "If you really need to ask me that, an answer isn't gonna help you in the slightest." Jailer clenched his fists. All he needed was one clean hit. **"You... MUST BE... destroyed!" **He charged at her like a starved lion, and landed a punch straight on the nose. But his shackle shattered, and he reeled back in pain. Clutching his fist, feeling like he just punched a tree. "I don't know if there's gonna be an afterlife for you. But if there is, don't do me the displeasure of having to see your garbage heap of a face again." Jailer's brain felt like it was imploding on itself. He was simply incapable of getting a hold on anything about her. Her beliefs, her power, anything! And he couldn't allow unknowns in his task. He ran at her one final time, attempting to affect her in some way, _any _way! But Daydream calmly leapt over him, slicing him clean in half as she vaulted over him, and blasting him to kingdom come with a laser of light.

Jailer spent his last few seconds, watching his body burning away in the light. All the while he still could not compute Daydream to any capacity. His final words, were much a poem about his look on life itself. **"I... do not... under... ssssssssssss..." **And it was over. Jailer was dead. The contract. The _curse _had been broken. The illusion faded to nothing, as all of the ghosts claimed by Jailer faded back into existence. And Daydream's form dissipated back into that of Vinny. It appeared that in all the chaos unfolding in the illusion, the ceiling, and most of the walls of floor 15 had been completely obliterated. But that didn't matter. Everyone was free, at long last. And the sun was rising, just as it was in the illusion. The stars fading out of sight. Maxill knelt down, and picked her up in his arms. His smile as bright as the rising sun. "Thank you so much, Vinny... for not giving up on me. Even when I gave up on myself." Vinny hugged him. "That's what family does, isn't it? Well, what ours does, anyway." And after all this was over, there was one last person who needed saving.

Luigi propped up Mario's painting against what was left of Maxill's desk, and used the dark light in his flashlight to set him free. Now out of his painted prison, Mario embraced his brother, and the whole group expressed how happy they were to see him. "So Luigi, how _did _you survive that tumble out the window?" Vinny asked. Luigi explained that before he hit the ground, Gooigi used his body to break Luigi's fall. Sacrificing himself to save him. It was ironic. Both Jailer, and Gooigi gave themselves doing what they were made to do. And yet, Gooigi's purpose was a noble one. Making all the difference. Maybe E. Gadd would remake him one day. After filling Mario in on a brief summary of everything that happened, Vinny and her family said their goodbyes to their new friends. "Will we ever see you again?" Peach asked. Elline shook her head. "Probably not. Now that our spirits are free from the contract, we're all moving on from the mortal world." Luigi actually felt kinda sad, seeing a partner he'd been through so much with leaving.

Vinny smiled cheerfully. "Don't worry, guys. I mean, yeah. We are parting ways. But we'll always have the happy memories we shared. Even if some of those memories involved robot alligators in sewers." Maxill nodded in agreement. "This hotel was the dream of my family for centuries... but now it's time to form a new dream to strive for. And right now, my only dream is being with the people I love." Daisy dawned a sad smile. "Well... I guess this is goodbye, then." Vinny walked over and held Luigi's hand. "Our era may be over. But yours is still beginning. Take that time to make yourself happy for me, okay?" Luigi nodded. Putting on a brave face for her. Vinny then walked over to her parents, looking back one last time. "Until next time..." and with that, she joined them. Every single ghost present, all vanishing in a flash of light. Finally able to rest after all these years.

Vinny had entrusted her childhood drawing to Luigi. Something he would go on to frame at his house. As the crew descended down the elevator, each of the floors they passed disappeared. Giving the space back to Mother Nature. Once at the bottom, they exited through the front doors and saw the shuttle bus they came here in, waiting for them. They collected their luggage, and hopped on. It was lucky that E. Gadd had the foresight to call the bus back here a few hours ago. And as Luigi found his seat again, waiting for the bus to start, Polterpup came in through the window and happily barked at him, while wagging his tail. Yeesh, Luigi had almost completely forgot about him over the course of his journey. As they drove away, back through the lush green landscape, the last of the hotel had faded away. An empty space, ready for someone else to build something on one day.

As he sunk into his seat, and enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done, E. Gadd came over and took a seat next to him. "Another stellar ghost hunting job, eh Luigi? And boy, this one really made me think about the emotional capacity of ghosts." He placed a hand on his chin. "I'll have to look into that subject more, when I get back to Evershade Valley." He then jumped in his seat, as if remembering something. "Oh! And I almost forgot amongst all the craziness." He took a piece of paper out of his suitcase, and handed it to Luigi. Luigi took it, and read what it was. He was dumbfounded by what he read. It wasn't some congratulatory letter, or some new blueprint for an upgrade to the poltergust...

It was the bill, for E. Gadd's car.

**(The song "Live Life" from Sonic and the Black Knight plays)**

**(And there you have it, folks! I hope the ending was up to your expectations. Now that this story is neat and tidied away, I can safely say this is one of the best stories I've ever written. But that's not to say, I shouldn't aim as high in the future. Now that we're done, and no stone is left unturned, I wanna ask you guys for your opinion: what did you like best about this story? A favorite chapter, favorite character, favorite moment, maybe all three, doesn't matter. I wanna know what you guys thought. So until next time, this has been Blueshade Seraphim, and we thank you for checking in.)**


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